At a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, von der Leyen said that vaccination would be crucial in combating the new, “highly contagious” virus variant.
Omikron had been observed in 24 countries on Wednesday, and the EU has tightened its travel rules since the virus variant was first discovered earlier this month.
Since then, European countries have seen an increase in the number of cases, but the WHO, for its part, has stated that it is too early to say how serious omikron really is.
– There are indications that many patients have a mild course of the disease, but as I said, it is very early to say anything about this, said Maria Van Kerkhove during the WHO’s press conference on Wednesday.
Compulsory vaccination
According to van der Leyen, however, the situation requires drastic measures, and she said on Wednesday that it is “understandable and necessary” for EU members to discuss mandatory coronary vaccination as a third of the population is still not vaccinated, this writes BBC.
– How can we encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination in the European Union? This requires discussion. It requires a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think should be addressed, said van der Leyen.