Covid new variants could arise anywhere, says WHO chief scientist

The Omicron variant of the Covid is the latest strain of the pandemic that is dominant in several countries. Compared to the Delta variant, the Omicron is less dangerous, but it is highly transmissible. And now, WHO chief scientist Sowmya Swaminathan has warned that new variants of the pandemic could arise anywhere. 

Covid pandemic is not over

Sowmya Swaminathan warned that it is not the time to lose the guards. According to Sowmya, the pandemic is not over, and it will be foolish to drop all precautions. 

"I don't think anybody can predict that. Let's not declare the pandemic over as some people are doing now. It would be foolish to drop all precautions that we've been taking all this time. We need to continue that and hopefully, by the end of 2022, we'll be in a much better position. A variant can arise anywhere and you're back to square one. We still need to be cautious," Sowmya told Bloomberg. 

People should wear masks in the future

Sowmya Swaminathan asserted that humans will slowly learn to live with the pandemic. She also noted that better surveillance systems will help to combat the spread of pandemics like Covid in the future. 

"We will learn how to live with it, like with other respiratory viruses. We'll have much better surveillance systems globally. We know that even if you have an ordinary respiratory infection or flu, it's good to keep your mask on. We should take that into the future," added Sowmya Swaminathan. 

According to Sowmya Swaminathan, it is very much necessary to speed up the vaccination campaigns,  especially in African countries where only fifteen percent of the total population are vaccinated. She also revealed that such delay could make the virus mutate again, resulting in the rise of new strains.