The World Health Organisation (WHO), in an update on the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday, raised a fresh alarm that the Omicron COVID-19 variant is fast overwhelming health care systems globally, following a huge increase in confirmed cases.
In Nigeria, no fewer than 39 COVID-19 infected persons have died in the last one week
Doctors say the Omicron variant often starts with a scratchy throat, followed by nasal congestion, dry cough and body aches.
The WHO said the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic were recorded last week.
The global health body, while advocating COVID-19 vaccines equity, urged countries to invest more in their health systems by ramping up surveillance, adequate testing, supporting and protecting health workers, and an empowering, engaging and enabling global population.
“To end the acute stage of the pandemic, the highly effective tools science has given us need to be shared fairly and quickly with all countries of the world. Vaccine inequity and health inequity overall were the biggest failures of last year,” WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
He continued: “While some countries have had enough personal protective equipment, tests and vaccines to stockpile throughout this pandemic, many countries do not have enough to meet basic baseline needs or modest targets, which no rich country would have been satisfied with. Vaccine inequity is a killer of people and jobs and it undermines a global economic recovery.
“Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and Omicron reflect that in part because of low vaccination rates, we’ve created the perfect conditions for the emergence of virus variants.
“And we know, for certain, that this is an underestimate of cases because reported numbers do not reflect the backlog of testing around the holidays, the number of positive self-tests not registered and burdened surveillance systems that miss cases around the world.
“While Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorised as ‘mild’. Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and it is killing people. In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick that it is overwhelming health systems around the world.
“First-generation vaccines may not stop all infections and transmission but they remain highly effective in reducing hospitalization and death from this virus.
“So as well as vaccination, public health social measures, including the wearing of well fitting masks, distancing, avoiding crowds and improving and investing in ventilation are important for limiting transmission.
“At the current pace of vaccine rollout, 109 countries would miss out on fully vaccinating 70 per cent of their populations by the start of July 2022.”
In Nigeria, 39 people have died from the COVID-19 pandemic in one week, according to a situation report of the epidemiological data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The report revealed that between January 1 to 7, 2022, death toll increased from 3,031 to 3,070.
Data show that since the beginning of this year, a total of 4,668 COVID-19 cases have been reported. As at January 7, 2022; Nigeria recorded 247,009 confirmed cases, 217,832 discharges and sadly, 3,070 deaths.
Official say over 16 million Nigerians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said 11,470,348 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination were reached with the first dose as at last Friday, while 4,739,270 were reached with the second dose (fully vaccinated).
In total, 16,209,618 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
141,183 people across the country have received their COVID-19 booster doses. However, three (3) states are yet to begin the administration of the doses. They include: Abia, Kogi and Niger states.
Scratchy throat, first sign of Omicron infection —Doctors
Doctors in Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (UK) have identified a sore or scratchy throat as a symptom of Omicron.
Ryan Noach, CEO of Discovery Health, South Africa’s largest private health insurer, said Omicron patients commonly report a scratchy throat first, followed by nasal congestion, dry cough, and body aches.
“It’s a very prominent symptom. It’s not like a little tickle in the throat,” Dr. Jorge Moreno, an assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, USA told online publication, Insider.
He said: “If they’re reporting it, they’re saying that their throat feels raw.”
Moreno said sore throat often “comes hand in hand with sinus congestion and headache.”
The publication said an analysis of an Omicron outbreak at a Christmas party in Norway found that 72% of infected people developed a sore throat, which lasted about three days, on average. Most of the infected people were vaccinated with two doses of an mRNA vaccine.
Though sore throats were common among vaccinated people with Delta infections, the symptom appears even more prevalent with Omicron.