Risk Remains High in Eastern Europe with Arrival of Omicron Variant: WHO

Copenhagen: Cases of COVID-19 have more than doubled in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine over the past 2 weeks, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge has said.
 
According to him, the Omicron wave is moving to the east of the WHO European Region.
 
"Vaccination remains our best defence against severe disease and death for all current COVID-19 virus variants in circulation," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

However, too many people at greater risk remain unprotected: less than 40% of those aged over 60 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have completed their COVID-19 vaccine series. 
 
Bulgaria, Georgia and North Macedonia are also among those countries where under 40% of health-care workers have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
 
"I call on governments, health authorities and relevant partners to closely examine the local reasons influencing lower vaccine demand and acceptance, and devise tailored interventions to increase vaccination rates urgently, based on the context-specific evidence," he added.
 
Faced with the Omicron tidal wave, and with Delta still circulating widely in the east, this worrying situation is not the moment to lift measures that work in reducing the spread of COVID-19. 
 
These include avoiding closed, confined or crowded locations, wearing masks when with other people indoors, improving ventilation where possible, using rapid tests to identify cases early, and making sure that health systems are well prepared to provide evidence-based treatments that we now know can reduce severe disease and death.
 
"However, looking further ahead, I would like to repeat my message of hope. While we can never know what new variants of the virus will emerge, several things are working in our favour. These include: high levels of immunity gained through infection or, preferably, vaccination; the end of the winter season with fewer people mixing indoors; and the lower severity of Omicron among those fully vaccinated," he stated.

 
Cek Berita dan Artikel yang lain di Google News