Even if the coronavirus variant Omicron causes up to less severe disease, it will be fast immersed in an exponential increase in cases, with probable higher levels of hospitalizations and deaths, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said today, Politico reports.
V a definite warning to Europe, the latest rapid risk assessment of ECDC called governments to take urgent action to slow the spread of the highly contagious Omicron, first identified in South Africa and Botswana last month.
EU Agency for Diseases assesses the likelihood of further spread of Omicron as “very high“and the general risk to public health in Europe as “very high“.
France is considering tightening Covid measures
Tighter controls at the country’s borders and insist on the importance of vaccination
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“In the current situation vaccination alone will not allow us to prevent the impact of the option because there will be no time to tackle the vaccination gaps that still exist“said ECDC Director Andrea Amon.
“Strict action must be taken urgently to reduce transmission and alleviating the heavy burden on health systems and protecting the most vulnerable in the coming months. “
The agency cites modeling that shows that Omicron can to become the dominant option in the EU and the European Economic Area in January or February.
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Britain with record number of new infections since pandemic – 78,610 new cases on Wednesday
Omicron has been “probably the most significant threat” since the beginning of the pandemic, already spreading in less than two days
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It also states that vaccination remains a key factor in reducing the impact of Omicron and Delta, which is still the dominant option in the region. Health systems are called to take immediate action to increase capacityafter governments did not remove measures such as face masks and telecommuting, the ECDC said.
Commenting on the new risk assessment, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that while the EU is better prepared for the coming wave, he you need to apply boosters faster. “Boosters should be our breakwater,” she said.
