Maria Van Kerkhove, a top World Health Organization official on COVID-19, speaks at a news conference in July.
Fabrice Coffrini / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
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Fabrice Coffrini / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
Maria Van Kerkhove, a top World Health Organization official on COVID-19, speaks at a news conference in July.
Fabrice Coffrini / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
NS coronavirus variant omicron It has now been found in 23 countries, and while much remains to be learned about this new strain of bacteria, there is no indication that a vaccine for COVID-19 is currently available, the World Health Organization said. yes will not continue to save lives, the World Health Organization said.
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday in Geneva, Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 technical lead in the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said scientists hope to know more about the rate of transmission soon. spread of the new variant and its severity.
“Although these are ‘early days’,” says Van Kerkhove, there are signs that some patients are suffering from mild illness.
“We expect to have more information on transmission within days, not necessarily weeks, [and] day in terms of severity,” she said.
Omicron, which was declared a “worrisome variant” by the WHO last week after being identified in South Africa, has quickly become a a global cause for concern amid speculation that it may be able to evade the vaccine and acquire immunity from infection with previous strains including the delta variant that currently predominates.
Van Kerkhove said she wanted reporters attending the press conference to make it clear that “there is no indication that the vaccine will not work even if its effectiveness is reduced.”
“It’s better to get vaccinated because it will save your life,” she said.
She warned that what continues to drive infections is “increasing social mixing in the face of inappropriate use of social and public health measures. Not lockdowns, but lockdowns. things like wearing a mask, hand hygiene, remote control, improved ventilation, etc.”
“And in that context, if you have any of those types of elements in a circulating virus, it takes advantage of that,” she said.
Van Kerkhove praised South Africa for its transparency and willingness “to not only share data, not only share information, but also share patterns”. However, she said the travel ban in the country “has caused some challenges for those samples to actually be shipped out of the country.”
Meanwhile, South Africa’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases on Wednesday reported the number of coronavirus infections doubled to 8,561 in the past 24 hours. However, the number of deaths and hospitalizations did not change significantly.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for “modified” travel restrictions, including screening travelers before and after they arrive in a country, and advised against bans.” burden lives and livelihoods.”
Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said there were “inconsistencies” inherent in selective travel bans.
“[Does] does the virus read your passport? “, he said.” Does the virus know your nationality or where you legally reside? “
