The European Medicines Agency predicted on Tuesday that the spread of the Omicron variant would turn the COVID-19 pandemic into an endemic disease that humanity can learn to coexist with, according to Agence France-Presse. The agency expressed doubts about administering a fourth booster dose, emphasizing that repeatedly giving doses is not a "sustainable" strategy.
Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy at the European Medicines Agency based in Amsterdam, stated, "No one knows exactly when we will reach the end of the tunnel, but we will get there." He added in a press conference, "With increased immunity among the population— and the spread of Omicron will provide more natural immunity, in addition to vaccination— we will quickly move towards a scenario closer to endemicity." However, he stressed that "we must not forget that we are still in a pandemic."
The European branch of the World Health Organization also noted that it is currently impossible to classify the virus as endemic like influenza. Catherine Smallwood, WHO's emergency response officer in Europe, confirmed, "We are still dealing with a virus that evolves rapidly and poses new challenges. Therefore, we are certainly not on the verge of considering it endemic."
According to the organization, more than half of Europeans could be infected with the Omicron variant within two months due to the current "wave." The WHO warned that combating the COVID-19 pandemic with booster doses of existing vaccines is not a sustainable strategy, a view shared by the European Medicines Agency.
Marco Cavaleri stated, "If our strategy is to give boosters every four months, we will ultimately face issues with immune response." He added, "Secondly, there is, of course, the risk of exhausting the population with the continuous administration of booster doses." Instead, he urged countries to start thinking about administering booster doses at longer intervals and at the beginning of winter, similar to the influenza vaccine.
Although the Omicron variant appears to be more transmissible than other variants, studies have shown a decreased risk of hospitalization after infection with this variant, estimated to be between one-third and one-half of the risk compared to Delta, according to the European Medicines Agency.
