The new strain of the coronavirus, omicron, is likely to spread internationally, posing a "very high" global risk where an increase in cases of covidium-19 could have "severe consequences" in some areas, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today. .

The United Nations agency, in a technical council of 194 member states, called on THEY to speed up the vaccination of high-priority groups.

"Omicron has a large number of mutations, some of which are worrying because of their potential impact on the course of the pandemic," the WHO said in a statement.

"The overall global risk associated with omicron, a new variant of concern, is assessed as very high," the WHO added.

Further research is needed to better understand the potential of omicron to avoid protecting the immune system from vaccines and previous infections, and to expect more data on this species in the coming weeks.