WHO: Omicron strain to dominate in Europe by early January

The new omicron strain, identified in 57 countries around the world, may become the dominant variant of COVID-19 in Europe by early January, according to the weekly bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the epidemiological situation in the world, Report informs.

Based on several assumptions about the benefits of growth, timing of spread in the European region, and considering population mixing and public health and social measures, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has predicted that if 1% of SARS-CoV-2 infections are caused by the omicron, it will become dominant in Europe, accounting for over 50% of the total number of new infections, with a growth advantage of 120% by January 1, 2022, the document says.