Chief scientist of World Health Organization Dr Soumya Swaminathan on Friday said hospitalisation due to Omicron is rising across the world, mostly in unvaccinated people. Sounding an alarm for countries which are beginning to feel the heat of Omicron, Dr Swaminathan said, “Though Omicron may cause less severe disease, a small % of a huge number is still very large and can overwhelm health systems.” Congratulating health workers, the chief scientist said vaccination protects against hospitalisation and death — be it caused by Omicron, Delta or any other variant of covid.