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There are currently three new variants of concern and six variants under surveillance, not reaching the level of concern
Covid-19 remains a threat as a new variant of the coronavirus causing the pandemic steadily spreads around the world, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
World Health Organization expert Maria Van Kerkhove said: “The SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading in all countries at the moment and still poses a threat.” She added during a discussion on the organization’s social media channels: “We must remain vigilant because the virus is spreading, evolving and changing.”
Van Kerkhove served as the WHO’s technical director for COVID-19 during the 2019 pandemic and is now acting director of the United Nations agency for epidemic preparedness and prevention.
There are currently three new variants of concern (XBB.1.5, XXB.1.16 and EG.5) and six variants under surveillance, not reaching the level of concern.
One of the six variants, BA.2.86, will be moved to the highest level of variants of concern.
“We don’t see a change in their risk” compared to other subvariants, but “we have seen a slow and steady increase in their detection around the world,” Van Kerkhove said.
The new classification should help strengthen monitoring and research procedures.
The World Health Organization also releases a new risk assessment of the EG.5 mutant, which represents about half of the sequences shared globally, noting that the World Health Organization also observed no change in its risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed millions of lives and caused economic and social devastation.
The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on December 30, 2020, its highest alert level, and then raised it on May 5 this year.
In addition to infections and acute illnesses, the WHO is also concerned about the long-term effects of the virus, known as long Covid or post-Covid cases.
“We have evidence that immunization with Covid-19 vaccines actually reduces the risk of post-Covid cases,” Van Kerkhove confirmed. You said that 13.5 billion Covid-19 vaccines have been used globally.
Noting that people can be infected with influenza and SARS-CoV-2 at the same time, he urged residents of the Northern Hemisphere to get vaccinated against both as winter approaches.