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Hans Kluge told the press that the region is facing a “unique” opportunity to put the coronavirus at bay due to the high immunization rate, the arrival of the warm season and the lesser severity of the Omicron variant. “This period of heightened protection should be seen as a ceasefire that could bring us lasting peace,” he stressed. For his part, the director general of the WHO asked not to rush to consider the pandemic over.
The most recent wave of positive cases that hit Europe seems to have passed its most complicated moment and that is why the experts are beginning to sing a more optimistic speech. Dr. Hans Kluge, who is the director of the office of the World Health Organization in the continent, expressed himself in this tune.
At a press conference held this Thursday, he expressed that Europe is entering a context in which there is a “plausible end to the pandemic” in a framework in which the number of deaths from Covid-19 is stabilizing.
He indicated that the continent is facing “a unique opportunity” to take control of the pandemic due to three essential factors. First of all, there is a high level of immunity caused by vaccination and by natural infections that generated antibodies in the population. Secondly, the arrival of warmer temperatures that stop the spread of the virus and, finally, the lower lethality of the Omicron variant.
I wish to reiterate the firm call I made last week which is indeed referring to a plausible endgame for the pandemic – not to say that it is now all over – but to highlight that in the European Region, there is a singular opportunity to take control of the transmission…
— WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) February 3, 2022
The end of winter in the coming weeks, Kluge assured, will give “the possibility of a long period of tranquility” due to the high level of defense that citizens will have against transmission. “This period of increased protection should be seen as a ceasefire that could bring us lasting peace,” he stressed.
The optimistic scenario that Kluge outlined also contemplates the possibility of new variants and believes that the European health authorities should be in a position to control them if they maintain the inoculation and reinforcement efforts.
To ensure that this ‘truce’ of the pandemic can be sustained over time until it reaches the point of extinction, the official indicated that there must be a “drastic and uncompromising increase” in the delivery of vaccines, not only in Europe but also in other territories. This is a request that different officials and organizations have emphasized after Ómicron emerged in Africa, where the percentage of immunization does not reach 15%.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that the only way out is for most of the world’s population to be vaccinated. As the virus continues to spread, it will be able to mutate into new lineages.
This context, that we have not experienced so far in this pandemic, leaves us with the possibility for a long period of tranquility and a much higher level of population defense against any re-surge in transmission, even with a more virulent variant @hans_kluge
— WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) February 3, 2022
Kluge detailed that the European region recorded 12 million new cases in the last week, the highest seven-day total so far in the pandemic. Compared to infections, admissions to intensive care units in hospitals did not have a significant growth.
Anticovid precautions regress in Europe
In recent days, countries such as the United Kingdom and Denmark have lifted almost all restrictions against the coronavirus because the fury of the Omicron variant reached its peak and the numbers began to decline.
Meanwhile, other nations such as Belgium and France have expired some basic measures such as the use of a mask outdoors, while some such as Spain are weighing the possibility of classifying Covid-19 as an endemic problem.
Faced with this change in the nations’ positions, last Tuesday the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that the end of the pandemic is still far away and that he is concerned about “the narrative of some countries” that consider the measures little necessary. of prevention. And he called for them not to succumb to political pressure.
with AP