Omicron May Be Dominant Over Next One Month But Is Less Severe Than Delta: IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath

New Delhi: Amidst the pall of gloom and worry over Omicron, IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath showed a silver lining on Thursday as she said the new variant is expected to be the dominant version over the next month but is less severe than Delta.

Speaking to CNBC TV18, Gopinath said: “The high number of cases can impact medical centres. Travel restrictions could be imposed if Omicron spreads faster. We need the whole world to get vaccinated or you will keep getting new variants of Covid-19.”

Who said what about Omicron?

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: 77 countries have so far reported cases of Omicron. It is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.

Dr Anurag Agrawal, director, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB): It is good to hope that what has been true for South Africa should be true for India, but even mild viruses have the capability of bringing the entire healthcare system to its knees. What’s prudent is that India should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. It is too early to conclude anything on Omicron at least before the end of December.

WHO top scientist Soumya Swaminathan: Omicron wave, which has struck at least 63 countries around the world, could have been prevented. It was in the world’s hands to prevent this if we had used the tools that we have equitably around the world.