President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the United States was “prepared” to tackle the quickly spreading Omicron coronavirus type, while Israel, which pioneered the use of Covid vaccine boosters, announced fourth shots for adults over 60 and health workers while WHO warns “a new storm is approaching”.
Despite early evidence that it does not induce a more severe form of Covid-19 than the Delta variety, Omicron, which is now seen in dozens of countries, appears to be more infectious than earlier coronavirus strains.
Its quick growth has prompted several countries to reimpose restrictions ahead of the holidays, dampening hopes that the worst of the pandemic has passed, or to rethink their efforts to stop it.
Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe, warned, “We can see a new storm approaching.”
As the US faces the latest rise of Covid-19 cases, Biden announced a slew of new steps in Washington, including mailing half a billion free home tests starting in January, in the aftermath of a significant Christmastime testing crunch.
“We should all be concerned about Omicron, but we should not be alarmed,” Biden stated from the White House, assuring the public that the variant would not push the country back to March 2020. He went on to say, “We’re prepared, we know more.”
Biden stated that his administration will send military personnel to hospitals, convey supplies to disaster-stricken areas, and set up additional free testing locations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US will provide $580 million in new help to international organizations to combat Covid in the face of rising Omicron infections.
According to the most recent official data, Omicron accounted for 73.2 percent of new cases in the United States in the week ending Saturday.
Denmark said on Tuesday that it has become the prevalent strain there as well.
Following an expert panel’s suggestion, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that citizens over the age of 60 and medical teams would be entitled for a fourth Covid vaccination shot.
Israel was the first country to make third dosages publicly available, a decision that some experts at the time thought was unneeded but was later proven correct. Bennett tweeted, “The world will follow in our footsteps.”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was too early to decide if drug companies needed to produce an Omicron-specific vaccination due to concerns that immunizations might not be as effective against the highly mutated version.
Biden emphasised that the US immunization effort would help prevent serious cases among the 62 percent of the people who are now fully vaccinated while criticising those who are not for failing to do their “patriotic duty.”
“Just the other day, former President Trump announced he had received his booster shot,” Biden said, adding that the gesture was “maybe one of the few things he and I agree on.”
As the threat of Omicron remained large during the holidays, Israel became the latest country to reimpose tight travel restrictions.
The United States has been added to a list of more than 50 nations whose citizens and residents are prohibited from traveling.
It comes after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to step up efforts to help end the pandemic, calling for New Year’s Eve celebrations to be postponed since it was better to “celebrate later than to lament later.”
Kluge, the European regional director of WHO, struck a grim note of caution.
“In a matter of weeks, Omicron will have a stranglehold on more countries in the region, driving already overburdened health systems even farther to the breaking point. Omicron is likely to become the most common variety in our area “Kluge said.
Paris has already canceled its New Year’s Eve celebrations, while Germany has imposed a 10-person restriction on private parties, shut down nightclubs, and prohibited spectators from big sporting events such as soccer matches.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz remarked Tuesday, “This is not the time for parties and nice evenings with a lot of people.”
According to Prime Minister Sanna Marin, bars in Finland will be forced to close at 9:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve as part of new restrictions aimed at combating record Covid infection levels.
The Catalan region of Spain is mulling a ban, while Morocco has declared a blanket ban on New Year’s Eve celebrations.
However, although some sports leagues have been forced to postpone events owing to Covid outbreaks, others have gone full steam ahead.
Patrice Motsepe, the African football chief, said Tuesday that the Africa Cup of Nations will take place as scheduled in Cameroon next month, and the NBA has no plans to halt its season.
Scientists are racing to learn more about the Omicron strain, which was originally discovered last month in South Africa and has been linked to infections in fully vaccinated persons all across the world.
On Tuesday, the WHO authorised a new coronavirus vaccine from Novavax, a US company.
The vaccine, which follows vaccinations from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, was approved by the EU on Monday.
