He World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday (December 14, 2021) warned that Omicron is spreading at a price that the sector has now no longer visible with any preceding COVID-19 variant.
During a media briefing on COVID-19, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that seventy seven nations have now pronounced instances of Omicron.
“The fact is that Omicron might be in maximum nations, even though it hasn’t been detected yet. Even if Omicron does motive much less extreme disorder, the sheer quantity of instances ought to yet again crush unprepared fitness systems,” he added.
Small decline in effectiveness of vaccines
Tedros additionally said that evolving proof shows a ‘small decline’ withinside the effectiveness of vaccines in opposition to extreme disorder and death, and a decline in stopping moderate disorder or infection.
“The emergence of Omicron has triggered a few nations to roll out booster programmes for his or her whole grownup populations, even at the same time as we lack proof for the effectiveness of boosters in opposition to this variant. WHO is involved that such programmes will repeat the vaccine hoarding we noticed this year, and exacerbate inequity,” he stated.
Omicron is spreading at a price we’ve now no longer visible with any preceding variant. I want to be very clear: vaccines on my own will now no longer get any united states out of this crisis.
It’s now no longer vaccines in place of masks, distancing, air flow or hand hygiene.
Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well.
End inequity, give up pandemic
The WHO leader yet again raised difficulty over vaccine inequity and stated that there stays a ‘widespread gap’ in fees of vaccination among nations.
He knowledgeable that forty one nations have nonetheless now no longer been capable of vaccinate 10% in their populations, and ninety eight nations have now no longer reached 40%.
“We additionally see good sized inequities among populace businesses withinside the equal united states. If we give up inequity, we give up the pandemic. If we permit inequity to continue, we permit the pandemic to continue,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added.