Coronavirus Omicron XBB.1.5 has been diagnosed in patients throughout Ukraine, except in Kirovograd region, experts expect it to appear in patients in the near future.
This is reported by the Center for Public Health with reference to the data of the reference laboratory for the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, viral and especially dangerous pathogens, which confirmed the circulation of this variant of coronavirus in the vast majority of regions of the country.
At the same time, the CDC notes that this variant of the virus has already been confirmed in wastewater in Kirovograd region.
“This is the first finding of this variant of “omicron” in wastewater. This means that there will soon be patients with this diagnosis. The circulation of Omicron XBB.1.5 in all oblasts is already a matter of days”, says Irina Demchishina, head of the reference laboratory for the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, viral and especially dangerous pathogens of the CHO.
The CDC reminds us that the Omicron strain is clinically more easily tolerated by patients, but it is transmitted faster.
The CDC urged Ukrainians to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Eight varieties of the covid strain “omikron” are currently circulating in Ukraine, a new strain has not yet been identified, Deputy Health Minister and Chief Sanitary Doctor Igor Kuzin said.
“Omicron is circulating mainly in Ukraine, eight of its varieties have been identified. We also monitor the situation with the emergence of a new strain, so far it has not been detected in Ukraine,” he said on the air of the telethon on Friday.
At the same time, commenting on testing for COVID-19, Kuzin noted that in regions where there are hostilities and a large number of airborne alarms, there are fewer tests,” he said.
According to Kuzin, there are currently about 2 million COVID-19 rapid tests in primary care facilities and “that’s an adequate residual.”
At the same time, predicting possible covid restrictions, Kuzin noted that all restrictions have been moved to advisory mode and “that’s the way it’s going to be.”
“Most areas look at the situation themselves and can make their own local decisions. They are mostly advisory. We can talk about applying local restrictive and recommendatory rules,” he said.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the use of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines adapted to protect against the Omicron coronavirus strain, the regulator said on Thursday.
The EMA Medicines Committee has recommended that two vaccines adapted for broader protection against COVID-19 be allowed to be used.
It notes that we are talking about vaccines aimed specifically at protecting against “omicron”.
According to the report, studies have shown that adapted versions of the vaccine “induce a strong immune response against Omicron and the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 in people who were previously vaccinated.”
Now the recommendation of the EMA committee will be sent to the European Commission, which “will make a final legally binding decision applicable in all EU member states”
The Ministry of Health expects a third fewer deaths from COVID-19 at the peak of the Omicron wave compared to the peak of Delta, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said during an hour of questions to the government in the Verkhovna Rada.
He also predicts that at peak times, the number of COVID-19 cases per day can reach 40,000-60,000 people.
According to the minister, Ukraine will reach the peak load on COVID-19 in the coming weeks, while he stressed that the country’s medical system is able to withstand the load associated with an increase in the incidence.
“The medical system of Ukraine has withstood the load of 34,000 cases per day,” he stressed.
As reported, at the peak of the Delta wave in the first half of November, the average number of deaths per week reached 680
According to forecasts of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, the epidemic situation in the country should be stable during the holidays, but a new strain of Omicron coronavirus (COVID-19) may appear in Ukraine this week, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov has said at a conference call chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky. “According to NSDC forecasts, the epidemic situation in our country should be stable during the holidays. It is expected that a new strain of the Omicron coronavirus may appear in Ukraine this week. But the results of the first studies in countries where it has already been detected indicate a milder course disease,” the President’s Office of Ukraine said on its website.
It is noted that due to the approaching Christmas and New Year holidays, the relevant orders of the Ministry of Health and the chief state sanitary physician on anti-epidemic measures were adopted during the operation of the ski resorts.
According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, anti-epidemic measures have also been developed separately during major events.
The prime minister also said that now Vinnytsia region meets the criteria for leaving the “red” zone, therefore, the issue of its transfer to the “yellow” zone will be considered.
In turn, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said that today Ukraine has overcome the rate of 40% of vaccinated among the adult population: out of 14.1 million citizens, 12 million received two vaccinations against COVID-19.
However, according to him, a decrease in the rate of vaccination has been observed over the past two weeks.
In this context, President Zelensky noted the need to intensify vaccination and said that in January 2022 the list of goods and services that can be purchased for UAH 1,000 provided by the state to every Ukrainian who received a full course of vaccinations, will be expanded.
“From December 19, fully vaccinated Ukrainians will be credited with UAH 1,000. They will be able to spend these funds on the areas most affected by the pandemic – sign up for a gym, go to a cinema, a museum or a concert, buy a train or plane ticket, buy books. At the same time, listening to the wishes of our elderly citizens, for whom health support is important, in particular in a pandemic, it was decided to add medicines to the list of available goods,” the head of state said.
He believes that such a move will increase the number of vaccines against COVID-19 among the elderly, and will also contribute to the treatment and prevention of other diseases.
Currently, the Ministry of Digital Transformation is finalizing the technical capabilities so that the purchase of medicines for the funds provided for inoculation will become available from January 2022.
