Omicron is not the last COVID-19 variant we will talk about-Expert
By Daniel Chigundu
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, a COVID-19 Technical lead with the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that there are chances that the world will witness the emergence of more COVID-19 variants.
She said this means there is a need to focus and increase vaccine coverage, especially in vulnerable populations.
Currently, there are about 10 COVID-19 vaccines that have been given the WHO Emergency Use Licence.
And countries have put varying efforts in vaccinating their citizens.
Zimbabwe has vaccinated about five million people since the start of the program in February of 2021 and had targeted inoculating about 10 million which is 60%.
In a statement, Dr. Van Kerkhove said “As the virus circulates into the third year of this pandemic, we will see more. So, it is very unlikely that Omicron will be the last variant you’ll hear us speaking about.
‘’This is why it is so critical that we focus on getting vulnerable populations around the world vaccinated and that we increase vaccination coverage in all countries, not just in some. So please get vaccinated when it’s your turn and really fight for vaccine equity and demand that from the leaders where you live, that we need people to have access to life-saving tools like vaccines. At the same time, we have to continue to drive transmission down,’’ Dr. Van Kerkhove said.
She added that the focus cannot be on vaccines alone, but that everyone has an opportunity to minimise opportunities of being infected.
‘’We cannot only focus on vaccinations, it’s vaccines and, not vaccines only. So, everyone needs to play their part in reducing the opportunity to get infected and to spread this virus. And there’s a number of things that we can do.
‘’Distancing, masking, improving ventilation, avoiding crowds, keeping your hands clean. All of those layers of interventions keep you and your loved ones safe,” she said.
Omicron is not the last COVID-19 variant we will talk about-Expert
