The WHO statement seems to have a more sanguine viewpoint than the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) which defines "Variant of Con

The WHO statement seems to have a more sanguine viewpoint than the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) which defines "Variant of Concern" as associated with one of the below: Increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology; OR Increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation; OR Decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics. https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants/ https://www.who.int/en/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-varian... This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa. Current SARS-CoV-2 PCR diagnostics continue to detect this variant. Several labs have indicated that for one widely used PCR test, one of the three target genes is not detected (called S gene dropout or S gene target failure) and this test can therefore be used as marker for this variant, pending sequencing confirmation. Using this approach, this variant has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage. https://www.who.int/news/item/26-11-2021-classification-of-omicron-(b.1.1.529)-sars-cov-2-variant-of-concern https://www.who.int/news/item/26-11-2021-classification-of-o...