COVID-19(omicron)

A year ago, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout had brought us hope that we could end the acute phase of the pandemic by the end of 2021. Instead, as we enter the third year of the pandemic, the world remains very much in its grip. Globally, COVID-19 has so far claimed more than five million lives and infected over 270 million people. The 22 countries/territories of the Eastern Mediterranean Region will likely report over 17 million cases and more than 314,000 deaths by the end of the year.

Unfortunately, the situation remains quite worrying, especially with new variants of concern emerging. The arrival of Delta and Omicron during 2021 made it clear that COVID-19 is far from over and that we are still just learning about it.

COVID-19 will continue to evolve in the months to come; simply because the virus continues to mutate. This is what viruses do: they change as they circulate. Yet, the way we can protect ourselves remains unchanged and progress has been made in developing effective tools to prevent and control the pandemic, including vaccine and therapeutics.

The only way we can stop the virus from spreading is by following the prevention guidelines against COVID-19 persistently, now more than ever. We have three reasons to do so. First, the winter  has  characterized by spikes of cases and deaths. Second, the holiday season with gatherings of friends and families. Third, the arrival of Omicron,  has the capacity of turning to a dominant variant in a matter of weeks wherever it emerges.

The holiday season is upon us. These times must stay happy times. Yet, the failure to apply the established public health and social measures could cause alarming surges in the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths. More cases could lead to more hospital admissions and overwhelm health systems once again.

we need to face an undeniable fact, regardless of how we feel: the virus is still very much present among us, and if we disregard this truth, we are in fact directly contributing to its ability to endanger and disrupt our lives. Anyone who ignores COVID-19 is actually perpetuating it.

Preventive measures, including physical or social distancing, quarantine, ventilation of indoor spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, and hand washing, are our only weapons to stay armed in the fight against the pandemic.

_{Source & credit: WHO}