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The regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe ensured that vaccines against COVID – 19 approved to date are effective against “all variants ”.
The regional director of the WHO for Europe, Hans Henri Kluge, however urged maintain “prudence”, in a press conference on the evolution of the pandemic, and argued that it is a “persistent threat” and with “new uncertainties.”
“Vaccines can be the light at the end of the tunnel, but we can’t be blinded by that light,” he said.
WHO is closely monitoring the evolution of the four variants most prominent that it has detected in Europe, and which it calls “of interest” or “Worrisome”.
The dominant one in the region is the one detected in the first place in the United Kingdom, but India has already been registered in 26 of the 53 countries that make up the WHO European region.
The Indian mutation, for example, has spread “in many cases ” due to international travel , although community transmission has also been detected.
Kluge indicated in this regard that non-essential international travel should be avoided and was skeptical about the possibility of “vaccination passports” (compared to the “vaccination certificate that registers all those immunized ), although he recognized that tourism is a vital income path for some regions.
The Head of Emergencies of the WHO in Europe, Catherine Smallwood, warned that at a time of “high transmission” like the current one -despite the regional decline in incidence- and with the “threat” of a new worrying variant, it is necessary to be “extremely careful” and reflect on any de-escalation decision.
“We will need to redouble all efforts” said Smallwood, who was in favor of maintaining requirements for travel, such as testing and quarantines in certain situations.
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