WHO Hints At Emergence Of Possibly More Dangerous Covid Variants

While the world is getting used to surviving amid the pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) has said that there is a strong likelihood for emergence of more dangerous Covid variants.

An emergency committee of WHO released a statement that said despite efforts being made on the national, regional and global fronts, the "pandemic is nowhere near finished. The pandemic continues to evolve with four variants of concern dominating global epidemiology."

As of now, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta are the four concerning variants of coronavirus that are dominating the pandemic scene. Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is spreading across the globe quickly. But the committee of the global health body shared that there is a strong likelihood for the "emergence and global spread of new and possibly more dangerous variants of concern that may be even more challenging to control."

As per the committee, regional and economic differences are affecting access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. Countries with well-resourced health systems and the ones that have advanced access to vaccine are under pressure to completely reopen their societies. On the other hand, countries that have limited access to vaccines are facing new waves of infections, witnessing erosion of public trust, growing economic hardship, and, in some cases, increasing social unrest too.

According to Daily Mail, Committee chairman Didier Houssin told the media that "recent trends are worrying." He added that more than a year after the WHO first declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), people are still "running after this virus and the virus is still running after us."

Meanwhile, there is a rise in the severe coronavirus cases among children in Mississippi, reported PEOPLE. Currently, there are seven kids in intensive care units, with two of them on ventilators, state health official Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted on Tuesday.

Dobbs initially said that 12 children, who had contracted coronavirus, were in the ICU, but later he revised the number after a correction from a hospital. He advised, "Please be safe and if you are 12 or older - please protect yourself."

The Mississippi Department of Health said on Tuesday that in excess of one million residents, or about 47% of the population, had been completely immunized. But only 6% of the eligible 12 to 15-year-old children had received both the doses.