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Rabat – It appears that another winter season will be heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as governments around the world seek to respond to a new wave of infections. EU leaders met on Thursday to discuss a coordinated response as cases are once again on the rise in Europe and around the world.
Dr Tedros Adhanom, the WHO’s Director-General, warned not to underestimate the new variant that was discovered in southern Africa this month. “Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant,” he emphasized, adding that “we’re concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild.”
The great risk of Omicron, experts warn, is that even though it causes less severe diseases, its high rate of transmission again risks overwhelming health care systems. “I need to be very clear, vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis,” Dr Adhanom warned.
Source: WHO
Public health officials and politicians around the world have been busy emphasizing the risks of the new variant. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach fears a “massive fifth wave” that is “worse than anything seen before during the pandemic.” Lauterbach emphasized that “we must prepare ourselves for a challenge unlike ever before.”
The UK is considering a post-Christmas two-week lockdown after the country broke another unfortunate record by registering 93,045 new cases for three days in a row this week.
Experts in Britain are again warning citizens to limit their contact with others ahead of Europe’s primary holiday season. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of a new “tidal wave” of infections across the British isles.
Source: WHO
The emergence of the Omicron variant is driving many of the new surges, according to experts. Denmark, France, and Switzerland have all decided to again close public spaces, citing concerns over the spread of the new variant. The WHO’s Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge described the situation in Europe and Central Asia as “very concerning.”
Africa is similarly experiencing a new wave of infections, with more young people than ever contracting COVID-19, according to data from South Africa.
Source: WHO
Across the Atlantic, the White House similarly is pushing citizens to rapidly get vaccinated or receive a booster shot, with US President Joe Biden warning of a “winter of death” for unvaccinated people.
Experts around the world echo politicians’ warnings regarding the new variant, yet many lament the continued vaccine inequality that is one of the primary drivers of new mutations and variants of the virus. With more than 5.3 million deaths worldwide, the profit-driven vaccine inequality experienced worldwide undermines any national approach taken by individual countries.
“The emergence of delta and now omicron further reinforces the importance of access to COVID-19 vaccines globally and equitably for the health of all,” a collective of renowned experts warned in medical journal The Lancet.
