WHO Chief Names the 'Recipe' for the Emergence and Spread of New COVID-19 Variants
The United States has registered the first case of the new Omicron variant.
On December 1, the World Health Organization issued strong warnings about the danger of ignoring COVID-19 vaccination, while the European Union drew up mandatory regulations after the United States registered the first case of the new Omicron variant.
What the WHO Says
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
WHO Director-GeneralAround the world, we have a toxic mix of low vaccination coverage and very low testing rates — a recipe for the emergence and spread of variants. We need to use the tools we already have to prevent transmission and save lives from Delta. And if we do that, we will also be able to prevent transmission and save lives from Omicron.
The new coronavirus strain, first reported by the World Health Organization in South Africa a week ago, quickly appeared on all continents, worsening economic forecasts and deepening concerns about another difficult winter.
The WHO said it may take several weeks to determine whether Omicron is more transmissible and whether it causes severe illness, as well as how effective modern treatments and vaccines are against this strain.
The detection and spread of the new virus variant suggests that the global fight against the coronavirus, which has been going on for almost two years, is far from over.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned that Omicron threatens the recovery of the world and lowered its 2021 growth forecast from 5.7% to 5.6%.
Omicron has prompted governments around the world to reinstate travel restrictions, in particular on South Africa. Japan suspended new flight bookings to the country.
On December 1, UN Secretary-General António Guterres criticized such bans, calling them "deeply unfair and punitive" as well as "ineffective". The rise in infection rates has already led governments of some European countries to reintroduce mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing, curfews or quarantine in order to prevent an increase in hospitalizations.
WHO member states gathered in Geneva to work on an international agreement to overcome future pandemics, despite the fact that governments have acted unilaterally and imposed travel restrictions.
An intergovernmental negotiating body will be established to reach an agreement on responding to future pandemics. The first meeting is scheduled for March 1, 2022.
Mandatory Vaccination
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke in favor of starting discussions on introducing mandatory coronavirus vaccination in the European Union.
Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European CommissionLooking at the numbers, currently 77% of the adult population in the EU is vaccinated, or 66% of the total population. This means that a third are not vaccinated, around 150 million people. That is a lot. Not everyone can be vaccinated, such as young children or people with medical contraindications, but most can. And now we need to start a discussion on how we can potentially think about mandatory vaccination in the EU. This requires discussion and a common approach.
According to her, since vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna intend to deliver another 360 million doses by the end of March 2022, booster doses will be available to everyone who wants them.
"We know from experience with the Delta variant that this is a race against time. Our scientists have already told us that full vaccination and booster doses provide strong protection against the coronavirus," the European Commission President said.
First Omicron Case in the United States
The United States has confirmed the first case of infection with the Omicron strain in a person who had completed a full course of coronavirus vaccination.
The case of infection with the new strain was detected in a patient who returned to the United States from the Republic of South Africa on November 22. On November 30, the patient tested positive for the coronavirus.
US presidential chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said the infected person had received two vaccine doses but had not received a third (booster) shot against the coronavirus.
At present, this patient is in self-isolation, and all people who had close contact with him have tested negative for the coronavirus.
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