- Top WHO experts seem to be controversial as to whether Omicron can signal the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- On Sunday, WHO’s European Regional Director suggested that this variant could provide widespread immunity.
- But on Monday, the WHO chief said it was “dangerous to assume” that Omicron was the last variant.
World Health Organization officials have expressed conflicting views this week about the predominance of the Omicron variant may indicate the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
WHO Secretary on Monday warned against assuming that the pandemic was approaching “late” and said it was “dangerous” to consider Omicron to be the last variant.
“On the contrary, it is an ideal condition for more variants to emerge globally,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gebreyes. During a briefing in Geneva..
“There are different scenarios for how a pandemic happens,” he said. “And how can we end the acute phase? But it’s dangerous to think that Omicron is the last variant or that we’re in the final stages.”
His warning is with a health expert Expert We hope that a more contagious but apparently mild Omicron variant may exhibit the final spread of the acute phase of the pandemic.
The day before, WHO Director of Europe, Hans Kluge, said: Agence France-Presse “It’s plausible that the area is heading towards the end of a kind of pandemic.”
Given the rapid spread of Omicron around the world, Kruge said that along with “declining seasonality”, “global immunity for significant weeks and months” due to both infections and vaccines. He said it was likely.
“We expect a quiet period before COVID-19 returns towards the end of the year, but not necessarily a pandemic,” Kruge added.
Europe almost reports 115 million COVID infections Among the 750 million residents, according to Reuters tally. Omicron is considered to be less severe than the delta type, but it is still the leading strain of the virus in most European countries as it can lead to hospitalization and death. European Center for Disease Prevention and Control..
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top expert on infectious diseases in the United States, also said on SundayConfident as you can“The Omicron will peak in most states by mid-February.
He said in ABC’s “this week” that the United States would begin to see a pandemic “improvement” as daily cases began to decline.
U.S. reported about 222,000 COVID-19 Cases on Monday are about a week and a half after the weekly average of daily recorded cases approaches 800,000. Omicron currently accounts for most COVID cases in the United States.
Still, all three experts, Tedros, Kluge, and Fauci, cautioned and advised against overconfidence.
“There is a lot of talk about endemic,” Kluge told AFP, adding that “it is possible to predict what will happen” at the endemic stage.
“This virus has surprised us many times, so we have to be very careful,” he continued.
Tedros has shown some bullishness, saying that if the world achieves its WHO goals, COVID-19 may no longer be a global health emergency in 2022.
WHO has long blamed the large gap in vaccine access between poor and rich countries.Tedros Repeated warning Leaving large numbers of people around the world unvaccinated will affect the progress of all countries.
“It is true that we will live with COVID for the foreseeable future, and we need to learn how to manage COVID through a sustainable and integrated system of acute respiratory illness, thereby preparing for a future pandemic. Platform will be provided, “says Tedros.
“But learning to live with COVID can’t mean that we get on this virus for free. Accepting about 50,000 deaths a week due to preventable and treatable illnesses. Can’t mean. “
