The World Health Organization and the European Disease Control Agency have warned that vaccination alone will not be enough in the face of the rapid outbreak of the omicron mutant.

While European countries are racing against time to intensify vaccination campaigns and contain infection, Britain set a new record for daily infections.

The World Health Organization said that preliminary evidence suggests that vaccines against the Corona virus may be less effective in protecting against the Omicron mutant, which carries a greater risk of recurrence than other strains.

WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the vaccines contributed to keeping people out of hospitals and prevented the emergence of severe symptoms of the Omicron mutant and it is necessary to receive them, but she stressed that receiving the vaccine is only part of what must be done.

Harris stressed the need to wear masks in an appropriate manner, avoid overcrowding, allow air to enter enclosed spaces, and wash hands constantly, pointing out that many people stopped adhering to this, especially in Europe, and therefore the virus spread again very quickly.

The spokeswoman added that the organization does not prefer resorting to complete closure for its negative effects, but it becomes a necessary solution for governments to limit the rapid transmission of the virus.

Spain begins vaccinating children (Reuters)

Europe's fears

In a related context, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the number of people infected with the Omicron mutated is currently doubling every two to three days, and this strain is expected to become the most prevalent in Europe next month.

Von der Leyen reported that 66% of the European population has so far been fully vaccinated, and 62 million have received booster doses.

She stressed that this constitutes the best possible protection against Omicron at the moment.

And based on the figures of the World Health Organization, more than 4 million cases of coronavirus were recorded during the past week only, 65% of these were registered in Europe, which also topped the percentage of those who died and at an almost similar rate.

In Africa, the rate of HIV infections increased by 111%.

The organization stated that 77 countries have so far reported discovering cases of Omicron, noting that the organization believes that the new mutant is present in most countries, but it does not have evidence of that.

In turn, the European Disease Control Agency warned that vaccination alone would not be sufficient in the face of the rapid spread of the omicron mutant, and called for strict measures to be taken.

The agency said that there is no time to fill the shortage in vaccination, and recommended a set of measures, including returning to remote work and increasing the level of caution during the end-of-year celebrations.

The agency raised its assessment of Omicron's risk to "very high", and said it could lead to hospitalizations and deaths at rates higher than those already expected in previous delta assessments.

The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention renewed its call for the "urgent re-imposition and strengthening" of "non-pharmaceutical" measures against Covid, a term that broadly covers restrictions, to ease the burden on the health system.

"There is an urgent need to take drastic measures to reduce transmission, reduce the burden on the health system and protect the most vulnerable in the coming months," the agency, which covers 27 countries in the European Union, Norway and Iceland, added.

And the World Health Organization suggested that the mutated Omicron is spreading at an unprecedented rate “in most countries”, which called on them to use all means to combat “Covid-19” to avoid flooding hospitals with patients.

The European Center stressed that the "priority" lies in putting a mask, working remotely, avoiding crowding in places and public transport, staying at home when sick, ventilating and maintaining a high level of hygiene.

This is in addition to tracking possible or confirmed infections with Omicron, with the test considered an "important tool" even when people are vaccinated, in addition to isolating those infected with Covid-19.

With the escalation of infection, 6 countries in the European Union launched campaigns to vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11 years.


Britain and France

And in Britain, the health authorities announced that 78,610 infections with the Corona virus had been recorded in the last 24 hours, to be the highest outcome since the start of the pandemic.

The previous record number dates back to January 8, 2021, at the height of the outbreak of the alpha mutant, with the countries severely affected by the epidemic recording 68,000 injuries.

Faced with a "massive wave" of infections, in the words of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the government has launched a booster vaccination campaign on an unprecedented scale, with the goal of giving an extra dose to all adults by the end of this month.

During a press conference, Johnson called on the population again to receive the vaccine “because the Omicron wave is still sweeping all over the United Kingdom,” explaining that the number of infections has now doubled “in less than two days in some areas.”

For his part, senior medical official in England Chris Whitty warned that Britain faced two simultaneous waves of the epidemic, one "fairly constant" due to the delta mutator and the other "spreading very quickly" linked to the Omicron.

In a television interview, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that it is possible that vaccination will eventually become mandatory in France, but added that this is not a priority at the moment.

He explained that with nearly 90% of those eligible to receive the vaccine already vaccinated, the country is no longer far from the level of vaccination that can be achieved by making the vaccine mandatory.

infection in america

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cut short a tour of Southeast Asian countries due to the infection of a number of his companions with the Corona virus, and the ministry said that Blinken called his Thai counterpart, expressing regret over his inability to attend a meeting that was scheduled between them Thursday.

During a White House briefing, Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rochelle Walensky said that preliminary data indicate that Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta mutant.

She explained that an increase in HIV infections was monitored among residents of nursing homes who received the full vaccination, and that the infection rate among those who received booster doses 10 times lower.