The new Omicron variant could become dominant among Covid-19 infections in Europe by mid-January, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday (December 15th), adding that there was now enough vaccines for all Europeans.
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Given the current rapid progression of cases, "
science tells us that we should expect Omicron to already be the new dominant variant in Europe by mid-January,
" Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. .
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the Omicron variant is spreading "
at a rate we've never seen with any other variant,
" calling for all anti-Covid tools to be used to prevent systems European health care providers are quickly overwhelmed as the end of the year holidays approach. “
But over the past year we've worked hard and achieved a lot. And that is why Europe is now in a better position to fight the virus
”, continued the President of the Commission on the eve of a summit of European leaders in Brussels.
“
First of all, we have enough doses of vaccine for every European now,
” stressed Ursula von der Leyen, recalling that 66.6% of the EU population had received two doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 and that for now, the third dose "
is the best protection against the new variant
".
Read alsoCovid-19 vaccines: Valneva obtains an EU contract of up to 60 million doses
"
The most important thing now is to increase the number of people vaccinated in Europe as quickly as possible
", because "
the price that we will pay if people are not vaccinated will continue to increase
" with in particular Christmas celebrations again darkened by the epidemic, schools and activities that are closing, insisted the president of the European executive.