EU chief mulls mandatory Covid jabs

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued stern warnings on the dangers of vaccination apathy and the European Union (EU) put mandatory jabs on the table as the United States registered its first case of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus.

“Globally, we have a toxic mix of low vaccine coverage, and very low testing – a recipe for breeding and amplifying variants,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday, reminding the world that the Delta variant “accounts for almost all cases”.

“We need to use the tools we already have to prevent transmission and save lives from Delta. And if we do that, we will also prevent transmission and save lives from Omicron.”

Omicron’s detection and spread have highlighted that the now nearly two-year global fight against Covid-19 is far from over.

In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was “understandable and appropriate” to discuss how to “encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination” in the bloc – although only individual member states can impose such mandates.

Austria has already said it will make Covid jabs compulsory next February, Germany is considering a similar approach, and Greece said it would mandate vaccines for over-60s.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, meanwhile, recommended that children aged five to 11 who are at risk of severe Covid should be considered a “priority group” for vaccination.

Rising infection rates have already seen some European governments reintroduce mandatory mask-wearing, social-distancing measures and lockdowns in a desperate attempt to limit hospitalisations.

Portugal, which has Europe’s highest vaccination rate, reintroduced mask mandates in indoor settings, and aims to administer a third Covid jab to almost one-fifth of its population by the end of the year.

From Wednesday, every adult in Italy became eligible for a Covid booster shot, previously only open to those aged over 40.

Despite new restrictions recently introduced in Denmark, the country on Wednesday registered a record number of new Covid cases with 5,120 infections in the last 24 hours. – AFP