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As long as the world is not vaccinated, we will not be protected, says WHO member

The representative of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm) and member of the working group on vaccines for Covid-19 of the World Health Organization (WHO) Cristiana Toscano said in an interview with CNN this Friday (26), that while there is no global vaccination coverage, no one will be fully protected against Covid-19.

“We have to vaccinate the whole world. As long as the world is not vaccinated, we are not protected and nowhere will be”, said Toscano.

Cristiana Toscano, representative of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm)

the lineage B.1.1.529 of the new coronavirus, named Ômicron, was classified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) this Friday (26). The decision is the result of an urgent meeting called by the WHO working group on Covid-19.

On Friday, Anvisa recommended restriction measures for flights coming from countries where the variant was initially identified. The decision applies to travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

This Friday night, the chief minister of the House, Civil Ciro Nogueira, stated that Brazil will close air borders to six African countries due to the new variant. According to the minister, the measure will take effect from next Monday (29).

Concern over the new Covid-19 variant identified in Botswana, southern Africa, which was technically named the Ômicron variant, has led countries to consider new measures to restrict flights across borders.

Second survey carried out by CNN on the afternoon of this Friday (26), at least 23 nations had already announced total or partial blockades to travelers from southern African countries.

According to Toscano, restrictive measures such as the control of flights from countries that have already detected people infected with the new variant are necessary and must be adopted.

Most countries that are structured, organized, and take public health action quickly and based on science have already taken action.

Cristiana Toscano, representative of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm)

Relaxation of measurements in Brazil

Regarding the flexibility of measures for social distancing that may soon be adopted in Brazil, Toscano said it is necessary to be cautious, and stated that it could be a premature decision to be taken at this moment.

“It is premature to fully relax the measures at this time. Why? Because new variants are appearing, because we have coverage that is improving, but it’s still not enough. We need, in fact, to reach a level of coverage with the two doses of 75%, 80%, in order to move forward with more security”, he said.

(*With information from Anna Gabriela Costa, Carolina Figueiredo, Giovanna Galvani, João de Marida, Layane Serrano and Vinícius Bernardes, from CNN)

Reference: CNN Brasil

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