The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a warning that a fresh wave of COVID-19 infection is anticipated to hit Europe ‘within a week.’ The agency also noted that adaptive vaccines are still in the early stages of development and the virus’s new variants are evolving more quickly than they can be produced.
The EU medicines watchdog claimed at a press briefing in The Netherlands on Wednesday that the epidemic was still ongoing since new variants were continually being discovered.
Dr. Marco Cavaleri, Head of Health Threats and Vaccines Strategy, claimed that last week, ‘one of these new Omicron variants that is called BQ.1 has been identified in at least five countries in the European Union and European Economic Area’
‘According to the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) BQ.1 and each sub-lineage, which is called BQ.1.1 will become the dominant strains by mid-November to the beginning of December.’
In order to protect people in high-risk groups, European health officials have advised vaccination against both the influenza virus and Covid this winter.
However, the EMA ended on a positive note by emphasising that the current vaccines are still efficacious.
The caution follows an increase in Omicron BQ.1 and closely similar BQ.1.1 subvariants instances in both Europe and the US.
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