Copenhagen, May 20, LETA – AFP. Progress in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic remains fragile and international travel should be discouraged, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge warned on Thursday, stressing that approved vaccines are effective against all variants of the virus.
“In the face of current threats and new uncertainty, we need to be cautious and re-evaluate or avoid international travel,” Klug said, warning that “growing transmission areas” in the region could expand rapidly.
The so-called Indian variant of the virus, which could be more contagious than before, has been found in 26 of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region, Kluge said at a weekly press conference.
At the same time, he said that the approved vaccines were also effective against the new strain.
“All variants of the Covid-19 virus that have appeared so far are responding to the available, approved vaccines,” the official said, noting that all new variants of the Covid-19 virus are controlled by the same public health and social methods used so far. .
In the region, 23% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 11% of both doses, Kluges said, urging the population to be careful.
“Vaccines may have a light at the end of the tunnel, but that light should not dazzle us,” he said.
The WHO European Region also includes the countries of the South Caucasus, Turkey and Central Asia.
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