“The information disseminated on the risks of the new variant is disproportionate to what the existing scientific evidence shows,” said the Mexican Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, on Saturday night on his Twitter account.
“It has not been shown to be more virulent or to evade the immune response induced by vaccines,” added the official, who is a doctor of epidemiology.
López-Gatell acknowledged that some data suggest that the Omicron variant “It has greater transmissibility than the previous ones”, but criticized some of the measures to prevent its spread.
“Travel restrictions or border closures are not very useful measures; they affect the economy and the well-being of the people,” the official added.
So far, no case of the Omicron variant has been reported in Mexico, the fourth worst hit country in the world by Covid-19 in absolute numbers, with 293,859 deaths and close to 3.9 million accumulated cases.
More than half of the 126 million Mexicans already have the complete anticovid vaccine scheme, while 11.6 million have received at least the first of two necessary doses.
Thanks to vaccination, the 15th world economy has resumed a normal life that includes holding massive events such as the Mexico City marathon or the Guadalajara International Book Fair that take place this weekend.
Experts project, however, a rebound in the epidemic after the end of the year holidays.
Ómicron continued to spread around the world this Sunday, with 13 cases detected in the Netherlands and Israel’s announcement to close its borders to foreign visitors.
The arrival of this variant was considered “worrying” on Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the WHO expert group, preliminary data suggest that omicron has a higher risk of reinfection compared to other variants such as delta, which is already dominant and highly contagious.
Source From: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
