The director of the World Health Organization in Europe appeared pessimistic today about whether vaccination alone can stop the pandemic covid-19, as variant coronavirus strains have reduced the likelihood of achieving collective immunity.
As it seems more and more likely the covid-19 to become an endemic disease and not eradicate it, Hans Klüge called for "expecting an adjustment to vaccination strategies", especially in terms of extra doses.
In May, Klouge noted that "the pandemic will end when at least 70% of the world's population has been vaccinated."
When asked if this target is still in force or if the rate should be increased, the WHO Europe Officer replied that the new, more contagious coronavirus strains, most notably Delta, have changed the data.
Then, in May, despite the fact that the Delta strain, which was first located in India, had already begun to spread, "there were not so many different, more contagious strains," Kluge explained.
"So I think that leads us to the conclusion that the main goal of vaccination is, first of all, to prevent serious forms of the disease and death," Kluge said.
According to epidemiologists, it now seems difficult to achieve collective immunity only through vaccines, but these remain critical to limiting the spread of the pandemic. covid-19.
A very high level of vaccination is still necessary "to avoid the pressure on our health systems, which are in dire need of treating diseases other than covid," he said.
in.gr