On Wednesday, the World Health Organization laid out three possible circumstances the pandemic might follow in 2022. The worst case scenario being a much more terminal variant.
WHO declared that the waning severity of the disease is more plausible, but also warned of the possibility of a more dangerous variant than Omicron.
During the recent Covid-19 Strategic Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan, WHO detailed the three possible scenarios for the third year of the pandemic. Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus led the brief.
The most probable scenario is that the virus evolves, but its severity diminishes. Tedros said that occasional spikes may occur, these can be addressed with booster shots for the vulnerable sector.
Tedros said, “In the best-case scenario, we may see less variants emerge, and boosters or new formulations of vaccines won’t be necessary.”
Worst-case scenario is a highly infectious variant emerges. In the occasion of a new threat, people’s immunization from their vaccines will quickly become ineffective. Tedros said that this scenario would require reformulating vaccines.
WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, cautioned that the virus still has “a lot of energy left.”