Speaking during a press conference at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva (Switzerland), the head of the all-powerful UN agency recommended to families and people who want to spend time together in this end. year to think twice: "A canceled event is better than a life less".

To protect your loved ones and yourself, it is better to cancel an event, he said.

For his part, "in the coming year, the WHO is committed to doing everything in its power to end the pandemic," he said.

At a time when the 5th wave of Covid-19 is hitting many countries head-on and when the appearance of the Omicron variant has plunged the planet back into urgency, the boss of the WHO, today one of the faces those most familiar with the fight against the coronavirus, expressed a wish: "2022 must be the year in which we will end the pandemic".

He once again pleaded for better access to vaccines in disadvantaged countries.

"If we are to end the pandemic in the coming year, we must end (vaccine) inequity by ensuring that 70% of the population in every country is vaccinated by the middle of the year. next year, "said Tedros.

The head of the WHO thus estimated that countries which administer booster doses to adults or children in perfect health would do better to try to share these doses or to convince unvaccinated people to take the plunge.

"Real behavior"

The remarks come after American scientist Anthony Fauci, the White House adviser on the health crisis, warned on Sunday that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 "was rampant" across the world, worrying about the number of Americans still not vaccinated.

Omicron is spreading at full speed across the planet, causing restrictions in many countries such as lockdown in the Netherlands.

But its degree of dangerousness is still difficult to assess, according to the WHO.

A delivery man on a bicycle in a deserted street in Rotterdam on the first day of "confinement" in the Netherlands, December 19, 2021 Marco de Swart ANP / AFP

"We have to wait and gather more information until we understand the real behavior" of this variant, Tedros said, urging the leaders and the population to "take the situation seriously".

The Omicron strain, which has multiple mutations, was first detected in South Africa and Botswana in November.

WHO Chief Scientific Officer Dr Soumya Swaminathan, who also attended the press conference, said early data from South Africa showed hospitalizations remained lower than during previous Delta-related waves. and the number of people hospitalized requiring oxygen or intensive care is lower.

However, she felt that it was "still too early to conclude that this is a moderate variant".

The Delta and Omicron AFP variants / Archives

"We are only at the beginning. As Omicron spreads, it will affect the whole world, the unvaccinated people, the elderly. We will then see if it is also benign in these people," he said. she warned.

But beyond its dangerousness, the WHO is, like Anthony Fauci, very worried about the speed with which the variant is spreading and threatens to "overwhelm the health system" and therefore to cause many deaths.

© 2021 AFP