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Updated December 3rd, 2021 at 11:22 IST

Omicron variant may become dominant in Europe 'within months' warns EU

n. The EU’s health body has warned that the cases of a new variant of coronavirus will make up half of all the COVID-19 cases in Europe "within a few months,"

Reported by: Apoorva Kaul
Omicron Variant
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As new cases of Omicron strain continue to emerge across the world, the European Union’s health body has raised alarm over the situation. The EU’s health body has warned that the cases of a new variant of coronavirus will make up half of all the COVID-19 cases in Europe "within few months," reported The Daily Mail. Scientists from the European Centre for Disease Control have increased the danger posed by the variant from 'high to very high' in their first situation report issued since cases of Omicron have been reported in a few countries. 

The European Union in the report stated that the early data has shown that the effectiveness of vaccines might witness a “significant” decline in protection against Omicron variant. Furthermore, the variant has the ability to pose an “increased” risk of reinfection to those who have already been infected with COVID-19, as per the Daily Mail report.. It is to mention here that the new variant, Omicron has been discovered in 13 European Union countries. As per the Daily Mail report, most of the people infected with the new variant of coronavirus have been travellers from Africa. The ECDC in the memo stated that the community spread of the Omicron variant in the European Union is assessed as “high”, however, they still need to evaluate the situation based on data that would emerge. 

EU health agency urges people to get vaccinated

The ECDC in the report noted that the risks of getting infected with Omicron are still 'highly uncertain' and the effectiveness of the vaccine against the variant is “not yet known", as per the Daily Mail report.  The ECDC in the report urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and further recommended that booster must be given. The EU health body called upon the people to follow COVID-19 restrictions like social distancing, ventilation in closed spaces and wearing face masks in order to control the spread of the virus. Scientists have stated that even though the travel ban would help in slowing down the initial spread of the virus, however, after local cases risk, it would become less effective. It is to mention here that Belgium was the first country in the European Union to discover a case of the Omicron variant. 

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Published December 3rd, 2021 at 11:22 IST

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