It will take a few more weeks to better study and understand the properties of the Covid-19 omicron, and it is very likely that the omicron will be widespread around the world during these weeks. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. And the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is calling on countries to rapidly increase vaccination and revaccination rates.
The highly contagious variant of Covid-19 Omicron may become dominant across Europe in the coming months, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention. The latest report says that there are already around 200 Omicron variants officially recorded in Europe – but the real number could be much higher. Similar warnings to the World Health Organization – indicating that the spread of the new form is inevitable – will only give countries time to prepare for a new outbreak.
“Border controls can delay the entry of a virus and prolong time. But every country and every community needs to prepare for new outbreaks. It is clear that the pandemic is far from over. But my message today is to protect myself and avoid new mutations – the only way is through vaccination, ”said Takeshi Kasai, WHO Director of the Western Pacific.
Concern over the spread of the new strain in many parts of the European Union – French immunologist Jean François warns that the omicron variant could become the dominant strain as early as the end of January.
In response to the spread of the new variant, the United Kingdom has begun mass sequencing of Covid-19 samples. 42 cases of the new variant have already been officially registered in the country. Concerns about new outbreaks and economic constraints – Revaccination queues are starting to form at vaccination centers in the UK.
“I am sad that it has returned. I think we need to deal with it and get vaccinated. Unfortunately, “antivirus” blocks this whole process. Personally, I think everyone needs to be vaccinated. The situation is complicated – we are back where we were two years ago, ”says Selina, a British citizen.
“The main thing for people to get vaccinated and revaccinated, we have to learn to live with it. Precautions, wear masks, get vaccinated, and then we can go on with life, ”says Michelle, a British citizen.
There are still a lot of uncertainties about the new variant of omicron – preliminary studies show that this variant is even more contagious than Delta varinate – and may also be immune to vaccines – and pose an increased risk of re-infection compared to other variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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