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By the end of 2021 it became clear that hopes were fading that the pandemic could end as the new Omicron variant was spreading around the world.
The year 2021 ended in Europe as it began – fighting a new wave of coronavirus infections.
In January, the Alpha variant, originally spotted in Britain, was the dominant variant. By the end of January, Britain had the highest death rate in the world. Much of Europe has returned to isolation.
“The government is instructing you to stay home again,” said British Prime Minister Johnson.
But there was hope. Britain had started the mass immunization program with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. It was a scientific achievement with unprecedented speed.
“When vaccines first arrived in clinics, there were high hopes for a reduction in the number of serious cases of infection, hospitalization and death, and that is what happened,” said Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University.
Europe experienced a third deadly wave of infections in March – amid allegations that vaccination programs were too slow.
Some countries have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for fear of blood clots that many scientists say was excessive.
“Of the 330 million doses of vaccine that have been given, we are not aware of any deaths confirmed by the COVID vaccine,” said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, scientist at the World Health Organization.
By early summer, immunity was building up in the European population – and by June, most of the continent had reopened.
But the virus continued to change shape. India suffered a deadly wave of infections triggered by the new Delta variant.
It quickly reached Europe – and by the fall, the Delta variant was spreading rapidly through schools. The World Health Organization once again declared Europe the epicenter of the pandemic. But the vaccines worked. Although the infection rate was high, deaths were relatively low.
But in November, South Africa reported a new, seemingly more contagious variant – the Omicron variant. It has now spread to Europe and most of the world.
In response, governments have increased vaccine boosting programs, offering the third vaccine to all adults.
“How this variant interacts with the population that has received the third dose is still something we do not know much about and we will probably not know for a few weeks. Another scenario we could probably see, in addition to multiple hospitalizations, would be mass illness. “So many sick people who will have to recover at home,” says Dr. Clarke.
This would have major implications for healthcare systems and the economy.
Scientists say this cycle will continue until a much higher percentage of the global population is vaccinated.
“So far, only 102 million Africans or 7.5% of the continent’s population have been fully vaccinated. More than 80% of the population has not received even a single dose. “This is a big dangerous gap,” says Dr. Salam Gueye, Regional Director at the World Health Organization for Africa.
Dangerous for Africa – and dangerous for the whole world, as new variants continue to emerge. As the pandemic enters its third year, it is still unclear how or when it will end./VOA/
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