Photo taken from Gestión

By Guillermo Alvarado

Just when it seemed that the traditional Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations would bring families and friends together again, after almost two years of pandemic, the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus with a very explosive contagion speed forced many countries to resume restriction measures.

The World Health Organization reported that this mutation is already officially reported in 89 countries, but that the figure is probably much higher at this time.

Western Europe, an area with a high level of development, is the most affected because there the immunization programs designed by governments, which even stockpiled more doses than necessary, were hindered by unusual anti-vaccination campaigns.

It is a paradox that there are millions of people opposed to being protected in this way, while in the poor world there are entire peoples without the possibility of benefiting from the different preparations currently available.

In the United Kingdom this week, in just 24 hours, the number of infections tripled to 80,000, which led Parliament to approve the extension of telecommuting, a health pass at public events and the use of masks in enclosed spaces.

France banned non-essential travel to the United Kingdom and Germany decreed a compulsory quarantine of all unvaccinated travelers from other nations of the Old Continent.

The government of the Netherlands, formerly Holland, decreed a strict isolation of its citizens that will last until January 14.

With less virulence, Omicron is also spreading throughout the American continent, and in the United States, daily Covid-19 infections reached 156,000 last Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Pan American Health Organization reported the existence of cases of the new strain in Ecuador and Peru, where public celebrations on the occasion of the end of the year were banned.

The upsurge of the global health crisis is closely linked to the lack of progress in vaccination, in some cases due to the lack of government resources, the ineffectiveness of programs such as COVAX to ensure an equitable distribution of immunizers, or the indolence of the people. 

Added to this is the greed of transnational laboratories that prioritize profits over the health of the people, because for them the suffering and death of others is a source of big business.