The healthcare systems of countries worldwide will have to stabilize the situation with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in 2022, not simply react to its outbreaks, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in an interview with a TASS correspondent.
"We are running a race with the virus, and so far, the virus has always remained one step ahead. We need to catch up and get ahead, and to do this we need to change our mindset in 2022, from constantly ‘reacting’ to the pandemic to ‘stabilizing’ it," he noted.
According to the official, by the end of the second pandemic year, the world is in a much better position than a year ago. "We have multiple effective and safe vaccines that are saving lives every single day. We understand this virus better and know what measures to take to keep ourselves and others safe. And new antiviral drugs are coming to market, which will be a game-changer in our treatment of COVID-19 patients. We are putting pressure on the virus and I am hopeful next year will be better than this one," he stressed, TASS reports.
He named five key stabilizers that will help ending the pandemic — vaccination, booster shots, the use of protective masks, ventilation of crowded indoor spaces as well as the use of new clinical therapeutic protocols due to new antiviral drugs appearing on the market that can change the treatment of COVID-19.
