The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that the newly detected Omicron variant of COVID-19 may "significantly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and increase the risk of reinfections" as it is the "most divergent variant" yet.
However, the ECDC still urged unvaccinated people to get their jabs and those who have already been inoculated to receive booster shots. "There is still considerable uncertainty related to the transmissibility, vaccine effectiveness, risk for reinfections and other properties of this variant. At this stage, based on our experience with previous variants we must be proactive and implement measures as a precaution to buy time until we gain more knowledge," ECDC Director Dr. Andrea Ammon (pictured) stated.
Earlier, the European Union recommended member states to suspend travel from South Africa, where the strain was detected, and a number of other countries in southern Africa in an effort to prevent the spread of the Omicron strain in Europe.
