“We now have strong evidence that the omicron is spreading faster than the delta variant,” Tedros told a news briefing in Geneva, according to Reuters. According to him, the omicron variant is also more likely to become infected with people who have been vaccinated or who have already had the disease. The omicron variant is spreading rapidly to Europe across South Africa, and experts assume that in a few weeks the delta variant will prevail over the hitherto dominant variant. In London, for example, this has already happened.
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2022 must be the year in which we end the “pandemic,” Tedros said, calling for tackling inequalities in vaccine distribution as well as caution during the coming holidays. “We all have had enough of this pandemic. We all want to spend time with our families, ”said the head of the WHO. However, according to him, better protection of them and oneself means “in some cases canceling the action”. Tedros advised people to think twice. “Canceled action is better than life less,” he stressed.
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Tedros also reiterated his call for easier access to vaccines in poorer countries. “If we want to end the pandemic next year, we must end inequality (vaccination) by ensuring that 70 percent of the population in each country is vaccinated by the middle of next year,” Tedros said.
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The WHO chief reiterated that he was not opposed to reinforcing third doses of vaccination, but stressed that they should be reserved for vulnerable people or people over the age of 65. Countries that give booster doses to completely healthy adults or children are said to do better if they try to share these doses or if they persuade unvaccinated people to get vaccinated.
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