New York, Europe Brief News – Moderna co-founder Noubar Afeyan said 2022 may be the year the pandemic enters endemic phase.
Afeyan stressed the need to stay vigilant as the Omicron variant spreads
“2022 may be the year that the pandemic enters an endemic phase. But it really depends on what happens and the decisions across the world,” Afeyan said.
Although omicron is highly transmissible,“on the other hand it’s having a lesser effect in terms of seriousness of disease,” he said.
Afeyan’s statements came in total contradiction to the World Health Organization officials, who have said it’s too early to make that call as cases surge.
The WHO has earlier warned of ‘tsunami’ of COVID cases in the near future. The declaration was due to Omicron spread.
The WHO further warned of the risk posed by the Omicron variant after COVID-19 case numbers shot up by 11 percent globally last week.
Omicron is behind the rapid virus spikes, the WHO said in its COVID weekly epidemiological update on Wednesday.
The update came after a number of countries reported record-high infection figures in recent days.
In some parts, the increase followed the emergence of the new Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa.