The omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease, the head of the World Health Organization said Monday.
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan added it would be "unwise" to conclude from early evidence that omicron was a milder variant than previous ones.
"With the numbers going up, all health systems are going to be under strain," Soumya Swaminathan told Geneva-based journalists.