Most Omicron coronavirus cases are presenting as "mild", the World Health Organisation has said.
A WHO official has said there is no evidence to suggest the current vaccines' efficiency has been reduced when tackling the new variant.
They report that early indications suggest "most" cases are not severe.
However, they noted there is still a lot unknown about the new strain. Read more about what we know so far here.
It comes, as The Mirror reports, after Botswana's health ministry declared on Tuesday, November 30, that almost 80% of cases of the Omicron variant detected in the country were asymptomatic.
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The new mutation is one of 40 identified by WHO, however, it has yet to be reported in Wales.
The concern is, as with each new variant found, that there could be an increased risk of quicker transmission.
Plans are now being made to roll out the vaccine programme sooner as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Dr Gill Richardson, Wales' Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Vaccines, said: "We will vaccinate older people first and those in at-risk groups.
"The JCVI is now recommending we speed up the roll out by reducing the minimum interval between the second dose of the vaccine and the booster to three months. We will follow this advice and will reduce the interval as quickly as possible.
"We will also offer the booster to all people who are severely immuno-suppressed who have completed their primary course of three doses of the vaccine."
On November 30 the World Health Organisation released a statement saying all vulnerable people - including over-60s - should postpone travel plans following the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Others identified as at risk of developing severe Covid symptoms should also look to postpone their trips.
They said: "Persons who are unwell or at risk of developing severe Covid-19 disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with co-morbidities (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes), should be advised to postpone travel."
However, they noted a blanket travel ban will not prevent the global spread of the latest variant.
The statement continued: “Blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.
"In addition, they can adversely impact global health efforts during a pandemic by disincentivizing countries to report and share epidemiological and sequencing data."
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