The United States announced on Tuesday that it will distribute millions of free COVID tests in the face of the advance of the omicron variant, which has forced several governments around the world to reimpose restrictions in the face of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Washington also assured that it will donate more than US $ 500 million to international organizations to fight the pandemic in many countries, while Israel announced new travel restrictions to the United States.
Amid fears that vaccines may not be as effective against this variant due to its multiple mutations, the European Union’s drug watchdog said it is too early to know whether drug companies will need to develop an omicron-specific injection. .
This variant, already detected in dozens of countries, seems to be more infectious, but initial indicators suggest that it does not cause more severe cases of COVID than the delta.
Its rapid spread around the world has caused governments to reimpose restrictions before the Christmas and New Year holidays, burying hopes that the worst of the pandemic was behind us.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, will speak to the country this Tuesday after the White House announced that the government will distribute 500 million free tests of covid-19 and will mobilize military medical personnel if necessary.
“We have the tools to overcome this wave“Said a White House official, noting that no new restrictions are planned.
The United States will also give US $ 580 million to international organizations, mainly the WHO, to fight COVID as part of the omicron advance, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The announcement was made after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States said that 73.2% of the new cases registered in the country last week corresponded to the omicron variant. Denmark said on Tuesday that this variant is also the dominant one in the country.
Biden took to Twitter Monday night to encourage people to get vaccinated and adopt safety measures such as wearing masks, warning that omicron cases are on the rise.
– “Celebrate late” –
Faced with the spread of omicron, Israel again imposed tough restrictions.
A parliamentary committee on Tuesday banned citizens and residents from traveling to the United States, placing it on a blacklist of more than 50 countries that also includes Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey.
For his part, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asked countries to redouble their efforts to see the end of the pandemic and urged that the end-of-year events be canceled.
Better “celebrate late than celebrate now and regret later”He said Monday.
Paris has already canceled its celebrations, while Germany on Tuesday limited New Year’s Eve gatherings and parties to 10 people and banned the public at major sporting events from December 28.
“This is not the time to have friendly parties and evenings with a lot of people“Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz said after speaking with the country’s regional leaders.
As of December 28, major events “will no longer be held with spectators, this applies in particular to football matches,” he added. Nightclubs will also be closed.
The Spanish region of Catalonia is also considering restrictions, while Morocco announced a total ban on New Year’s celebrations.
The Netherlands has already imposed a Christmas lockdown, and European officials have warned that omicron could be the dominant variant in Europe by mid-January.
Meanwhile, in Ecuador, the government ruled out confinement during the December holidays on Tuesday.
Scientists are rushing to learn more about omicron, first detected last month in South Africa and which has infected people with the full vaccination schedule around the world.
The head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said that it is too early to know if a specific vaccine for omicron is necessary, as it is necessary to have more information.
“There is still no answer on whether we will need an adapted vaccine with a different composition to face this (omicron) or any other variantEmer Cooke said.
His comments came as the WHO approved another vaccine on Tuesday, that from the US firm Novavax.
The vaccine was licensed by the European Union on Monday, the fifth accepted on the block after those from Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Officials hope the Novavax vaccine, made with more conventional technology than others, will help persuade those who have questions about vaccination.
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