With Omicron, the end of the pandemic in Europe seems “plausible”, says the director of the regional branch of the WHO

The Omicron variant, which could infect 60% of Europeans by March, has started a new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region and could bring it closer to its end, the director of WHO Europe estimated on Sunday 23 January. “It is plausible that the region is approaching an end to the pandemic, Hans Kluge told AFP, calling however for caution because of the versatility of the virus. Once the Omicron wave subsides, there will be overall immunity for a few weeks and months, either because of the vaccine or because people will be immune due to infection and also a drop due to seasonality. “

However, we are not in “an endemic era”, underlined the UN official. “Endemic means (…) that we can predict what will happen, this virus has surprised more than once. So we have to be very careful”, insisted Hans Kluge.

In the region which has 53 countries, Omicron accounted for 15% of new Covid-19 cases as of January 18, according to WHO data. This variant appeared at the end of November, more contagious than the Delta, is now dominant in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), according to the European health agency. With the explosion of contaminations, it is now a question of “minimize disruption and protect vulnerable people” and no longer to focus only on reducing the transmission of the virus, estimates Hans Kluge.