On 27 January, over 80 Romanian General Practitioners (GPs) and public health experts participated in an online workshop aimed at strengthening planning and implementation of information and vaccination caravans in rural areas.
The Omicron variant of concern (VOC) is currently spreading with unprecedented speed and intensity across the EU/EEA, with overall reported infection rates three times higher than the highest peak during the pandemic so far.
As of 20 January 2022, the Omicron variant has been identified in all EU/EEA countries. From 20 December 2021 to 9 January 2022, there were 23 EU/EEA countries with adequate sequencing volume that reported an estimated prevalence of Omicron VOC of 69.4%.
From 20 December 2021 to 2 January 2022, there were 21 EU/EEA countries with adequate sequencing volume that reported an estimated prevalence of Omicron VOC of 46%.
As of 6 December and since 5 December 2021, 30 additional SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant of concern (VOC) cases have been confirmed in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), contributing to an overall total of 212 confirmed cases to date.
As of 2 December 2021, and since 1 December 2021, 20 additional SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 79 confirmed cases.
On 1 December, ECDC published Interim Public Health Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination of Children following EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) recommendation from 25 November to grant an extension of indication for the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, to include use in children aged 5 to 11 years.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published a new Threat Assessment Brief on the new variant of concern (VOC) B.1.1.529, or Omicron. Based on currently available genetic information, the risks of this VOC are high, according to preliminary data.
A new study by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published in Eurosurveillance estimates that 470,000 lives have been saved among those aged 60 years and over since the start of COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in 33 countries across the WHO European Region.