The omicron variant of the coronavirus, from which 60% of Europeans could be infected before March, gave way to a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region and could precipitate its end, he considered on Sunday (01.23.2022 ) the director of the WHO for Europe.
“It is plausible that the region is approaching the end of the pandemic,” Hans Kluge, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, told AFP, although he called for caution, given the versatility of the virus. .
“As soon as the omicron wave calms down, there will be global immunity for a few weeks and months, either thanks to the vaccine or because people will have been immunized by the infection, and also a drop due to seasonality,” he considered.
However, he warned, Europe is not in an “endemic era”. “Endemic” means […] that we can foresee what is going to happen; this virus has surprised more than once. So we have to be careful,” Kluge insisted.
