"Omicron, Let's Treat It Like the Flu Now" Claim... WHO Says "Premature"

WHO "Omicron Less Severe Than Delta but Still Risky"

Gran V?a Avenue in the center of Madrid, Spain.
Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] In Europe, including Spain, there are calls to treat the Omicron variant, known to cause milder symptoms than the COVID-19 Delta variant, as an endemic disease similar to the flu.

According to Bloomberg and other sources, on the 11th, Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, said, "The current situation is different from a year ago," and added, "We need to reassess whether COVID-19 has evolved into an endemic disease."

He continued, "I have proposed to European countries to treat COVID-19 as a periodically occurring endemic disease, and the conditions for discussion have been created," urging the European Union and the EU to engage in related discussions.

The UK also stated that "(COVID-19 is) on the journey from a pandemic to an endemic." Nadim Zahawi, the UK Education Secretary and former Minister for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment, said, "We want to show the world how to transition from a pandemic to an endemic."

In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that "it is premature to consider COVID-19 as an endemic disease." The WHO emphasized that "more than 15 million people worldwide were diagnosed last week, marking a record high on a weekly basis," and stressed that the Omicron variant should not be underestimated.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated, "Let me be clear. Although the symptoms of the Omicron variant are less severe than those of the Delta variant, it is still a dangerous virus, especially for the unvaccinated."

Additionally, the WHO expressed the position that repeatedly administering additional vaccine doses is not a feasible strategy amid the continuous emergence of new variants.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.