COVID-19 tests and vaccination lines continue amid Omicron spread

People line up for COVID tests and vaccines as infections continue to spread with the now-dominant Omicron variant, which is spreading far faster than previous versions of the coronavirus. A fast-spreading Omicron variant that causes milder illness compared with previous versions of the coronavirus has fuelled the view that COVID-19 poses less of a risk than in the past. But the extraordinary spread of Omicron in many countries means that in absolute numbers, more people will experience severe disease.

A health worker collects a swab sample from a woman to test for the coronavirus disease after cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

People stand in a queue to be tested for COVID-19 as the pandemic continues in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

Luan Ribeiro Ferreira dos Santos receives a dose of Sinovac Biotech's Coronavac vaccine against COVID virus, as the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) approved its use for children, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

People wait to get tested for the coronavirus as the pandemic continues in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

A health worker collects a swab sample from a man to test for COVID-19, after cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

People wait at a rapid testing site during a mass testing for the coronavirus, after cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

People walk past a COVID-19 testing sign during the pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

A woman registers to be tested for the coronavirus as the pandemic continues in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 20. (Image: Reuters)

A man receives a booster dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, in Santa Catarina, on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, on January 19. (Image: Reuters)

People line up to receive a booster dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, in Santa Catarina, on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, on January 19. (Image: Reuters)

People queue outside a gym set up as a Respiratory Care Module, where workers of the Mexican Social Security Institute grant sick leaves to patients with the coronavirus disease in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on January 19. (Image: Reuters)