Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, is in Switzerland to attend a news conference on the outbreak of the coronaviruses disease.
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the world's high levels of infections will likely lead to new versions of the virus as the omicron variant fades in some countries.
Many people think that omicron is the last variant and that it is over after this. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, said during a Covid update that the virus is circulating at a very intense level around the world.
According to the WHO, new infections have increased by 20% over the past week with nearly 19 million total cases reported. Van Kerkhove said that new infections are likely much higher than what is reported to the WHO.
Aylward warned that high levels of transmission give the virus more opportunities to replicate and cause another variant to emerge.
Aylward said that they don't understand the consequences of letting this thing run. Most of what we have seen so far in areas of uncontrollable transmission has been that we have to manage the new uncertainties that emerge as we go forward.
Public health measures, such as masks and physical distance, should not be relaxed now. She called on governments to strengthen their measures to head off future waves of infections and bring the virus under better control.
Van Kerkhove said that if we don't do this now, we will move on to the next crisis. We can end the crisis we are in at the moment. Don't abandon the science. She said to not abandon the strategies that are keeping us and our loved ones safe.
Van Kerkhove wants governments to invest more in systems to track the virus as it changes. She said that this won't be the last concern.
A team of South African scientists published a small study in December that found people with omicron may have increased immune protection against the delta variant. A growing body of research shows that people with omicron are not as sick as people with delta. The South African scientists wrote that if the immune protection and less severe illness were taken together, the virus could become less disruptive to society.
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday that it is too early to say whether omicron will mark the final wave of the Pandemic.
Fauci told the World Economic Forum that if we don't get another variant that evades the immune response of the prior variant, that would be the case.
The worst of the omicron wave is over if new infections are to be believed by the WHO Director General. Tedros warned that health-care systems are still under pressure from the unprecedented wave of infections.
Tedros urged everyone to do their best to reduce the risk of infections. It's not time to give up and wave the white flag.
The World Health Organization has warned that low immunization rates in developing countries are due to the lack of equal distribution of vaccines. The WHO set a target for 40% of the population to bevaccinated by the end of 2021. The WHO said that 92 countries did not achieve that goal.
Tedros said that with the incredible growth of omicron, new variant are likely to emerge, which is why tracking and assessment remain critical.
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