Last week, more than 15 million new cases of COVID-19 were reported to WHO from around the world – by far the most cases reported in a single week – and we know this is an underestimate.
This huge spike in infections is being driven by the Omicron variant, which is rapidly replacing Delta in almost all countries.
However, the number of weekly reported deaths has remained stable since October last year, at an average of 48 thousand deaths a week.
While the number of patients being hospitalized is increasing in most countries, it is not at the level seen in previous waves.
This is possibly due to the reduced severity of Omicron, as well as widespread immunity from vaccination or previous infection.But let’s be clear: while Omicron causes less severe disease than Delta, it remains a dangerous virus, particularly for those who are unvaccinated.
Almost 50 thousand deaths a week is 50 thousand deaths too many.
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