The WHO said that someone vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 can become infected and, without being alarmed, they request strategies to avoid contagion.
At the end of this 2021 the pandemic seems to increase its affectation in various countries with the appearance of the omicron variant, which would be the most contagious so far.
However, health authorities around the world ask that, without generating alarmism, governments and the population in general take measures again to try to control its rapid spread. Especially at this time when Christmas parties come together, end of the year and winter arrives.
The director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the information that is being analyzed on omicron indicates that it circulates faster than the previous ones and that “it is probable that those vaccinated and those who have been cured of COVID become infected or reinfected ”.
The person in charge called everyone to become aware of this situation a few days before the end of the year festivities, pointing out that it is better to cancel the celebrations now “and celebrate life tomorrow”, than “celebrate today and mourn tomorrow ”.
“This is very serious and we are very concerned (about omicron),” stressed Tedros, adding that reports that would indicate that this variant causes more moderate disease than delta (the predominant variant worldwide) may not be representative.
In Italy, the Ministry of Health registered 30,798 new coronavirus infections in one day (Monday), the largest increase recorded since November 2020, and 153 deaths were also confirmed.
This number of infections was not seen in Italy since November 21, 2020 (34,767), although many more tests are now being done.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed yesterday that he does not plan to impose new restrictions to stop the expansion of the omicron variant before Christmas, since there is still “uncertainty” about “the severity of the omicron”, the “rate of hospitalizations ”among those infected with this variant and on the“ impact ”of the booster doses of the vaccines, of which the United Kingdom has already inoculated almost 30 million, reports EFE.
The British Government reported 90,629 new infections in 24 hours yesterday.
In the United States, the Government announced that it will donate 580 million dollars to international organizations, such as the WHO, UNICEF and FAO, to combat COVID-19.
“This is a global pandemic that requires global solutions,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In addition, the country is preparing to use the medical personnel of the armed forces and more supplies to support the new wave of infections.
Meanwhile, while the level of effectiveness of the vaccines against the new variant continues to be analyzed, the WHO approved yesterday the vaccine of the American company Novavax. The European Medicines Agency had already authorized it on Monday. It joins the Covaxin vaccines from the Indian Bharat Biontech, Covovax produced by the Serum Institute of India under license from the American Novovax; Pfizer / BioNTech; Modern; AstraZeneca (WHO counts two AZ vaccines, one of them manufactured in India), Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm and Sinovac.
Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, said in an interview with Le Monde newspaper that the first findings show that his vaccine would be 40% effective (two doses) against omicron, but that even triple vaccinated people could have the virus. Therefore, they are developing a vaccine adapted to this new variant, which would be ready in March 2022.
80% of the patients hospitalized by COVID-19 are people who have been vaccinated, according to data collected by the organization in the international arena.
According to the WHO, if the world wants to end the acute phase of the pandemic in 2022, the problem of inequality between countries must be resolved in terms of access to the tools that exist to stop the virus, such as vaccines, tests and treatments. (I)
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