00:00Today, the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave
00:06sweeping across the region on top of the delta surge
00:12that all countries were managing until late 2021.
00:17At this rate, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
00:21forecasts that more than 50% of the population in the region
00:27will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks.
00:32Fifty of the 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia
00:35have now reported cases of Omicron.
00:39It is quickly becoming the dominant virus in Western Europe
00:43and is now spreading into the Balkans.
00:47Data collated in recent weeks confirms that Omicron is highly transmissible
00:53because the mutation it has enabled it to adhere to human cells more easily
01:00and it can infect even those who have been previously infected or vaccinated.
01:07Allow me to reiterate that the currently approved vaccines
01:11do continue to provide good protection against severe disease and death,
01:17including for Omicron.
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