EU approves fifth jab as WHO urges greater effort to end pandemic

BRUSSELS: The European Union approved its fifth Covid-19 vaccine Monday, stepping up its battle against the omicron virus variant as the WHO called for greater efforts to ensure the pandemic ends next year. Europe is already far ahead of other parts of the world with its rollout of vaccines and booster shots, but the omicron variant has helped fuel record case surges, forcing a return to harsh restrictions in some countries. Despite indications that omicron is not more severe than the still-dominant Delta variant, early data suggests it could be more infectious and possibly have higher resistance to vaccines. Since it was first reported in South Africa in November, omicron has been identified in dozens of countries, dashing hopes that the worst of the pandemic is over. But US President Joe Biden said Monday that he was not planning on “locking the country down.” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for nations to redouble efforts to help end the pandemic, calling for new year events to be canceled because it was better to “celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later.
“We have to focus now on ending this pandemic,” he said. London on Monday announced it had canceled a New Year’s Eve event in the central Trafalgar Square for 6,500 people. Paris has already canceled its new year celebrations and Germany is expected to roll out tight restrictions on private parties and close nightclubs, according to a proposal seen by AFP.
“New Year’s Eve celebrations with a large number of people are unjustifiable in the current situation,” reads the draft document. German government advisers were already urging much tighter restrictions across the board, with experts in several countries warning repeatedly that vaccinations alone will not be enough to stop omicron. Morocco has announced a blanket ban on New Year’s Eve celebrations. But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out any further tightening of England’s coronavirus rules over Christmas, while pledging to keep the situation “under constant review.” Queen Elizabeth II is nonetheless understood to have canceled plans to spend Christmas at her Sandringham estate and will instead take “sensible precautions” and stay at Windsor Castle, according to British media.
The Netherlands has already imposed a Christmas lockdown and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the omicron variant could be dominant in Europe by mid-January.
The EU’s authorization of the jab from US firm Novavax, which uses a more conventional technology than other Covid vaccines, has raised hopes that people worried about getting vaccinated might now come forward.