Women are more vulnerable to the newly emerged Covid-19 variant Omicron across the globe than men, says the Directorate General of Health Services.

Research data collected from countries like South Africa where the new variant has spread is showing this trend, DGHS spokesperson Robed Amin said joining a briefing on Covid-19 on Sunday virtually.

‘Data found in South Africa where the variant was detected first is showing a different trend -- women, children and youths are being infected more,’ he said.

Robed said Omicron has debunked the previous idea that younger generations are less likely to be infected with the virus as they have stronger immunity.

‘None of the vaccines being administered currently are 100 per cent effective against the Omicron Covid-19 variant,’ said the DGHS spokesperson.

As the vaccine antibody in those who have already received two doses can decline with time and in those cases they can be affected by the Omicron variant, he said.

‘We suggest taking a third booster dose of the vaccine as it can increase the antibody level which is believed to be effective in preventing the variant.’

Regarding the recent increase in the daily Covid-19 case detection, he said the number has gone up with the increase in the number of tests.

‘Last week, 20 per cent more Covid-19 tests were conducted than the previous week. Along with that, the number of fatalities also increased in the last seven days,’ Robed added.

He said, ‘We’re planning to vaccinate four crore people in a month and thus ensure vaccination of 80 per cent of the country’s population or more by June.’

Robed urged the above-60 citizens and front-liners involved in health services to receive the Covid-19 booster dose.

Three more cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Bangladesh, taking the total tally to 10 till Friday, according to GISAID, the global database for genomic data on the Coronavirus.

On December 11, Bangladesh reported its first two cases of the Omicron variant in two members of the Bangladesh women cricket team.