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she said on Twitter.The tweet received thousands of shares and likes; still, the claim is misleading.In fact, there is scant data on how the new variant is being spread. Vaccination remains a key to resisting the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it's true that vaccinated individuals can still catch and spread the virus, the vaccines are proven to significantly lessen the severe consequences of infection and reduce hospitalizations and deaths.Furthermore, unvaccinated individuals are more likely to catch the virus from vaccinated people who may get breakthrough infections, a recent study in the U.K. found.The new omicron mutation was first reported to the World Health Organization from South Africa on November 24 (Greek letters are used to identify successive mutations).On November 26, the WHO designated omicron a Variant of Concern (VOC) – that is, a variant that has the potential for increased transmissibility or potency.Nonetheless, the WHO and national health agencies say it may take days or weeks to fully understand the new mutation, and that too little is known about omicron to assess whether it is more infectious or dangerous than prior mutations. That includes how it responds to vaccines.On November 28, the WHO summarized what is currently known:It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible (e.g.
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