The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it is monitoring emerging evidence on the new Omicron variant and its implication.
In a statement on Monday, the agency said the variant has not been detected in Nigeria, but a number of cases have been reported in the United Kingdom, Israel, Botswana, Hong Kong, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and counting.
It said no deaths have been attributed to this new variant yet, but given the high number of mutations present in the Omicron variant and the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases observed in South Africa, the virus is considered highly transmissible and may also present an increased risk of reinfection compared to other Variant of Concern (VOCs).
A total of 126 genomes of this variant have been detected globally and published on GISAID, a global mechanism for sharing sequencing data.
The NCDC said “This virus can still be detected with existing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. The WHO and researchers across the world are working at speed to gain an understanding of the likely impact of this variant on the severity of COVID-19 and on the potency of existing vaccines and therapeutics.
“The NCDC continues to ensure daily review of surveillance data and uses this to inform public health decision making.”
It said the fears about the new variant’s ability to evade protective immune responses or vaccine resistance was not true, but urged Nigerians to ensure strict adherence to the proven public health and social measures in place.
