The World Health Organization (WHO) released this Wednesday (30) an updated plan for Covid-19, setting out three possible scenarios for how the pandemic will evolve this year.
“Based on what we know now, the most likely scenario is that the Covid-19 virus continues to evolve, but the severity of the disease it causes will decrease over time as immunity increases due to vaccination and infection,” he said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a briefing to reporters.
The updated Strategic Preparedness, Preparedness and Response Plan sets out the strategic adjustments that all countries need to make to address SARS-CoV-2 transmission factors, lessen the impact of Covid and end the global emergency.
Vaccines and variants
The new mutations of the virus that causes Covid-19 were a concern regarding the effectiveness of the vaccines developed, but, according to the technical director of the WHO, Maria Van Kerkhove, the studies have had encouraging results.
“Vaccines are incredibly effective in preventing serious illness and death, including against the most recent variant of concern, Ômicron”, explains the director, in an interview with the WHO Science in 5 podcast.
The director highlighted that the agency is working with surveillance officials, public health officials and experts around the world to track the virus.
“There are five variants that the WHO has classified as variants of global concern. The most recent is Ômicron and, in fact, we are following several sublineages of Ômicron. You’ve heard us talk about BA.1 and BA.2. There are other sublineages that are circulating as well,” explained Van Kerkhove.
*with information from Mrinalika Roy of Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
