An unnamed World Health Organization official told British media Wednesday that according to data, the existing coronavirus vaccine is effective against the new Omicron variant, and as such, there is no need to adapt the current doses.
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The source did say however that Omicron, which was first identified in South Africa, has a higher transmission rate, most likely because it has over 30 spike mutations. In contrast, the Delta variant, which has been the dominant mutation worldwide for several months, has 16.
Meanwhile, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called on members states to consider mandating coronavirus vaccinations in their respective countries in order to prevent another deadly coronavirus infection wave.
"The rapidly increasing case numbers are putting an increasingly heavy strain on our hospitals and health workers. On top, the arrival of the presumably highly contiguous Omicron variant calls for our utmost attention. But I am convinced that the EU is up to the task to tackle these challenges," Von der Leyen said.
In related news,
The EU decided against holding a special remote summit of the bloc's leaders on the omicron coronavirus variant for the time being, an official said on Wednesday.
The EU's 27 health ministers will first assess the situation next Tuesday before it will be put to the leaders in the Dec. 16 regularly planned summit, an EU official said on condition of anonymity because the meeting hadn't been officially announced.
An emergency summit had been discussed for days, but it was tough to find a time slot for all the leaders. It was also unclear exactly what the leaders could decide while so much remained uncertain about the new variant that was first discovered in southern Africa.
The EU nations and the European Council will monitor the developments on a daily basis.
As of Tuesday, 44 cases of omicron were reported across 11 EU nations, said the EU's European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, adding that the majority involved a history of travel to Africa. Outside the EU and southern Africa, omicron infections have turned up in such places as Australia, Canada, Britain and Israel.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, whether it makes people more seriously ill and whether it can thwart the vaccine.
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