Stealth Omicron Intensifies... Need for Infection Prevention Messages, Encouragement of 3rd Vaccination Dose

"Due to the change in dominant strain, we need to observe for 2-3 weeks... Confirmed cases may slightly rise then fall"

On the 20th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases remained in the 100,000s for the third consecutive day, citizens visited the temporary screening center at Seoul Station. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Regarding the COVID-19 epidemic situation, which showed a declining trend but then experienced a 'doubling' (2x increase) phenomenon again, Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital diagnosed it as "the stealth Omicron becoming full-fledged."

On the 29th, Professor Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Hanpan Seungbu' and said, "In South Korea, the dominant strain changed at the peak, so we actually need to wait 2 to 3 weeks to see how things will change in our country," adding, "The number of confirmed cases may decrease very slowly or might slightly rise like a double-humped camel before falling again."

Regarding the overseas COVID-19 situation, Professor Lee explained, "In countries like the UK where Omicron arrived very quickly first, cases rose to 200,000, then dropped to 50,000, and rose again to 100,000. Hospitalization rates also increased to levels seen during the severe Omicron period," and added, "In Singapore, two variants (Omicron and stealth Omicron) arrived together, so the hospitalization peak appeared as two peaks simultaneously."

On the possibility of worsening COVID-19 spread due to the emergence of new variants, Professor Lee said, "It depends on what kind of new variant it is. Anyway, for a new variant to overcome Omicron, it must be somewhat better than Omicron," and continued, "If it has strong transmissibility, the epidemic scale could be somewhat large, but I do not think the occurrence of severe cases will be as high as before."

However, Professor Lee noted, "If a variant that evades vaccine effectiveness more than Omicron and has faster transmissibility emerges, a very large number of infections could occur," adding, "This is a concern many experts share."

Furthermore, Professor Lee emphasized, "The message that efforts to prevent infection are necessary must continue," and said, "We need to encourage those who have not yet received the third dose of vaccination to get vaccinated. Also, it is a situation where children aged 5 to 11 in high-risk groups must be vaccinated, so transparent communication about what the public should do is essential."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.