Whereas a new COVID-19 strain dubbed Omicron is sending shockwaves across the globe, with countries shutting their borders and introducing tighter restrictions in a bid to stifle its spread, a Swedish professor has blamed the Western world for its failure to provide a just and fair distribution of vaccines.
According to Anna Mia Ekström, a professor at Karolinska University, one of the leading medical institutions in Sweden and Europe, as well as a member of the COVAX global vaccine collaboration expert council, while the peculiarities of the Omicron strain have not been properly mapped, vaccination coverage will be absolutely decisive in determining how hard it will affect people.
While most suggest that the spread cannot be stopped, Anna Mia Ekström ventured that in Europe, the consequences will be mild. On the African continent, by contrast, things could get more serious, she warned. With a vaccination rate of just over 27 percent, South Africa is the best-vaccinated country in Sub-Saharan Africa, but on average only 7 percent of the population of the region has received a dose of the vaccine.
“It is the inability of the rich world to distribute these effective vaccines in a sensible way globally that has made it possible for the virus to mutate, which happens quite naturally when the infection is allowed to ravage freely”, Anna Mia Ekström told national broadcaster SVT.
According to Ekström, the severity of the virus strike depends on the proportion of the elderly who have been vaccinated.
At the same time, she said the countries with the absolute worst vaccine coverage – Haiti in the Caribbean and Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa – stand out due to their weak political leadership and deficient health systems. These are countries where COVAX hasn't sent its vaccines due to risk of it not being distributed correctly.
Researchers in South Africa, where the new strain originated, and around the world are currently conducting studies to better understand many aspects of Omicron. So far, neither the transmissibility, nor the severity of the disease is known, compared to other variants. The number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiologic studies are underway to understand if it is because of Omicron or other factors.
Meanwhile, the strain has already made its way to Europe and Scandinavia, with Denmark and Sweden recording their first cases.
In response, Japan and Israel have promptly decided that no foreigners are allowed to enter, and more countries are expected to follow suit.