The organization’s representative also stated that it is too early to know if Ómicron will become the predominant variant of COVID-19.
What was said by Swaminathan ties with the statements of his colleague and spokesman for the organization, Christian Lindmeier, who He noted that there was no information on deaths from Omicron.
Lindmeier also commented at a UN briefing in Geneva that vaccine manufacturers should prepare for the possibility of having to adjust their products.
Ugur Sahin, CEO of German biotech BioNTech, which makes a covid vaccine with Pfizer, told Reuters Next They should be able to adapt their dosages relatively quickly.
He also indicated that current vaccines should continue to provide protection against serious disease despite mutations.
Takeshi Kasai, WHO Director for the Western Pacific, told a press conference that vaccines are the solution and that border controls can only buy time.
“People should not rely only on border measures. The most important thing is to prepare for these variants with potentially high transmissibility. So far, the available information suggests that we do not have to change our approach,” he said.
Kasai urged countries to fully vaccinate vulnerable groups and adhere to preventive measures such as the use of masks and social distancing.