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The World Health Organization said that the Omicron variant is spreading faster than any of the previous variants of COVID-19.
"Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during an update from the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
He said that the new variant has been detected in 77 countries, adding that "the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn't been detected yet."
Tedros said that while the Omicron variant appears to be less severe than the Delta variant, it can still cause a surge in cases that could overwhelm hospitals.
"We have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril," he said. "Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems," he said.
While evidence suggests the Omicron variant reduces the protection provided by COVID vaccines, they are still effective at preventing people from ending up in the hospital. Pfizer said that its two-dose vaccine is 70% effective against hospitalization but just 33% effective at preventing people from getting infected with the Omicron variant. The pharmaceutical company said that a booster shot results in a 25-fold increase in protection from the new variant.
According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Omicron variant accounts for 3% of infections in the U.S.