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Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

Omicron spreading at an unprecedented rate: WHO

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 14 Dec 2021 22:25
4 Min Read

The World Health Organization commented on the importance of being cautious against Omicron, the 'jab gap,' and other matters.

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  • World Health Organization Testing New Drugs to Treat Covid-19
    World Health Organization warns against not taking Omicron seriously. 

Omicron, the new Coronavirus variant, is spreading at an unprecedented rate, according to the World Health Organization on Tuesday, urging countries to act fast to limit the transmission of the variant and protect health systems. 

Since being detected in South Africa last month, the Omicron variant has been reported in 77 countries, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

Omicron is a heavily-mutated variant that can be transmitted at a fast rate. 

Ghebreyesus continued, "The reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn't been detected yet... Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant."

Abdi Mahamud, a WHO expert, said in a press conference that some countries in Europe can, very soon, witness Omicron to be the dominant variant. 

Tedros warned against "dismissing Omicron as mild," saying that even if Omicron does cause less severe sickness, the high number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.

He called on countries to use all possible measures to contain the spread, including scaling up vaccination, encouraging mask-wearing, and physical distancing.

First death in the UK

Yesterday, the United Kingdom announced its first death by Omicron variant. 

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As of Monday, the UK acknowledged 54,661 new coronavirus cases and 38 deaths within 28 days since a positive test; however, Javid believed that daily infections are around 200,000, confirming that there are 4,713 cases with the Omicron variant. 

According to the Health Secretary, Omicron will become the dominant variant in the UK within the next 48 hours, taking into consideration that 44% of all London cases, as of today, are Omicron. 

Vaccine apartheid 2.0

As Omicron becomes an international threat, developing and developed countries alike are seeking ways to contain the pandemic. 

However, with the 'vaccine apartheid' which has spilled from the past year onto today, there will be an abysmal 'jab gap' between high-income countries and low-income countries. 

Although it has been predicted that there will be at least a billion-vaccine surplus by the end of 2021, recently, Covax announced that it will not be able to satisfy the vaccine needs of developing countries, which have only vaccinated some 0.5% of their populations. 

Today, Tuesday, Tedros pointed out that 41 countries have yet to vaccinate even 10 percent of their populations.

Commenting on boosters, he said there was not yet enough data to show a third dose is needed to effectively protect healthy adults against the variant, continuing to say that "as we move forward, boosters could play an important role."

  • Omicron Covid-19 Variant
  • Omicron Covid-19 Variant

Pfizer recommends the booster

Pfizer said Wednesday a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine could offer vital protection against the new Omicron variant.

The pharmaceutical company underscored that the initial two doses appear to be drastically less effective. Pfizer-BioNTech said two doses might not offer protection sufficient enough to prevent infection. However, according to the partners, lab tests showed a booster shot increased by 25 times the level of anti-virus antibodies in the host against the Omicron variant.

Blood samples taken a month after people received a booster shot showed they harbored levels of Omicron-fighting antibodies similar to those proven protective against predecessor COVID-19 variants after the two initial doses.

Pfizer announced its findings in a press release, and in the meantime, they are preliminary and haven't undergone any scientific review yet.

  • Omicron
  • WHO

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