The World Health Organization has said it will take a few weeks to understand the severity of disease caused by the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and whether it can evade existing vaccines.
WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris said it is "theoretical" to say that current vaccines are likely to be less effective against the variant. "The jury is out and we have got to see what is happening in the real world," Dr Harris told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was first reported in southern Africa. The WHO has said it carries a "very high" risk of infection surges.
Dr Harris said the mutations in the variant are in the part of the virus that the vaccines are designed to target, and the concern is whether the mutations change