New Delhi - The Omicron variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate, the World Health Organization has said.
WHO Director General Tedros A. Ghebreyesus said that a total of 77 countries have reported Omicron cases so far but the reality is that this variant is probably yet to be detected in some countries.
"Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. It's not vaccines instead of masks, distancing, ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well", said Ghebreyesus.
He said that there remains a vast gap in rates of Covid-19 vaccination between countries. "41 countries still have not been able to vaccinate 10 percent of their populations. 98 countries have not reached 40 percent. We also see significant inequities between population groups in the same country", said Dr Tedros.
South Africa also announced that it will start giving Pfizer booster shots against coronavirus next month, a health official said, a day after the country reported a near-record high in daily cases of the disease, AFP reported.
"The first people who will qualify for the booster dose in South Africa will be people over the age of 60 years," Dr Nicolas Crisp, director general at the health ministry, told a weekly news conference.
Experts are working to determine whether current Covid vaccines will work against the new highly-mutated variant, which was discovered by South African scientists last month.