The ECDC confirms that there is already community transmission in Europe and that the variant could become dominant in the first two months of 2022
The omicron variant continues to advance rapidly in Europe and could become the dominant one on the European continent in the first two months of 2022. “We have indications that there is community transmission in the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area and a rapid increase in cases of omicron & rdquor; is imminent, according to prediction models,” the director of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, during the presentation from the last risk analysis. According to this report, the probability of a further spread of the virus “It is very high & rdquor ;, also that it causes additional hospitalizations and deaths, so it is necessary for governments to continue treading the vaccination accelerator and that they adopt strong measures to reduce transmission.
“In the current situation, vaccination alone will not allow us to prevent the impact of the omicron variant because we will not have time to address the vaccination gaps that still exist & rdquor; so “it is urgent that strong measures be taken to reduce transmission and alleviate the heavy burden on health systems and protect the most vulnerable in the coming months,” he warned. At the gates of the Christmas period, this again means avoiding large public or private gatherings, encouraging the use of a mask, hand washing, adequate ventilation of closed spaces, reducing contacts in social or work environments, promoting teleworking , reinforce travel precautions, increase screening tests, and conduct contact tracing.
Strong resurgence
Related news
If this type of recommendation is not applied, “the Member States are facing a strong resurgence of cases & rdquor ;, Ammon warned. “Now that the holidays are approaching, we need solidarity more than ever & rdquor ;, he added. And the fact is that, even if the severity of the disease caused by this variant is equal to or less than that caused by the delta, the increase in transmissibility and the consequent exponential growth of cases “will quickly outweigh any benefit of a potentially reduced severity & rdquor; , argue the ECDC experts who emphasize the importance of good traceability and genome sequencing.
The analysis also maintains that, despite the uncertainty surrounding effectiveness against the variant of sera authorized in the EU, vaccination remains a “key & rdquor; for reduce the impact of omicron and cope with the circulation of Delta. In this regard, it urges them to continue their efforts to increase the acceptance of full vaccination in individuals who are currently not vaccinated or who are only partially vaccinated. According to the ECDC, booster doses will increase protection against severe cases of the delta variant while preliminary evaluations suggest that booster might also increase protection against omicron. “The impact on the population is expected to be greater if a booster dose is given to most of the adult population and if this booster dose is given as soon as possible, but not earlier than three months after completing the course of complete vaccination “.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com