A man walks past a COVID-19 testing site at an international airport in Mexico City, Mexico, on Dec. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xin Yuewei)
Hugo Lopez-Gatell explained that Omicron only affects the upper part of the respiratory tract, without causing more severe damage to the lungs like the Delta variant.
MEXICO CITY, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is becoming the dominant variant in Mexico, but is less likely to cause severe harm, Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Tuesday.
The official explained to journalists that Omicron only affects the upper part of the respiratory tract, without causing more severe damage to the lungs like the Delta variant.
"The Omicron variant ... has an important characteristic that helps us understand why the rapid rise in cases has led to a relatively slow increase in hospitalizations," Lopez-Gatell said.
The clinical picture caused by Omicron is very similar to that of a common cold, the health official said, adding that as a result, the population vaccinated against COVID-19 is better protected against the spread of the virus.
According to the latest official figures, Mexico's national vaccination plan has reached almost 82.5 million people.
The Latin American country had accumulated 4,136,440 COVID-19 cases and 300,412 deaths from the disease as of Monday. ■
