Covid-19 remains a threat as a new variant of the coronavirus causing the pandemic spreads steadily around the world, the World Health Organization said yesterday, Tuesday.
World Health Organization expert Maria Van Kerkhove said, “The SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading in every country at the present time, and it still poses a threat.”
She noted that people could be infected with influenza and SARS-CoV-2 at the same time, and urged residents of the northern hemisphere to get vaccinated against both as winter approaches.
She added during a discussion on the organization’s social media sites, “We must remain vigilant because the virus is spreading, evolving, and changing.”
Van Kerkhove was the technical director for COVID-19 at the World Health Organization during the pandemic in 2019, and is now the acting director of the United Nations organization for epidemic preparedness and prevention.
Currently, there are 3 new variants of concern: EG.5, XXB.1.16, and
One of the six variants, PA.2.86, is being moved to the highest level among variants of concern.
“We do not see a change in their risk” compared to other subvariants, but “we have seen a slow and steady increase in their detection around the world,” Van Kerkhove said.
Strengthening monitoring procedures
The new classification is supposed to contribute to strengthening monitoring and research procedures.
The World Health Organization is also publishing a new assessment of the risks of the “EG.5” variant, which represents about half of the global common sequences, noting that the World Health Organization has also not observed a change in its risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed millions of lives and caused economic and social losses.
Besides infection and acute illness, the WHO is also concerned about the long-term effects of the virus, known as long Covid or post-Covid cases.
“We have evidence that immunization with Covid-19 vaccines actually reduces the risk of post-Covid cases,” Van Kerkhove confirmed.
She said that 13.5 billion Covid-19 vaccines have been used globally.
2023-11-22 13:29:19
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