WHO: Spread of new COVID-19 strains will not lead to a new pandemic

The spread of mutated variants of the coronavirus will not provoke a new wave of the pandemic, director of the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO), Hans Kluge, said in an interview with the newspaper El Pais, Report informs.

"The new options are a cruel reminder that the virus is still hitting us," he said. "But this is not a new virus. It is a normal evolution of any pathogen that tries to adapt to its host, a human."

"This is not the beginning of a new pandemic, but of course, we must be very vigilant," Kluge said.

In his opinion, vigilance is essential, as new strains can cause re-infection and faster spread of infection, making it more difficult for some countries' health systems to cope with the pandemic.

"And finally, because they [new strains] can affect the effectiveness of vaccines," he said. "We have seen this with the common flu. There may be variants that require a slightly different vaccine," the WHO representative explained. "We have to remain vigilant because if we have a faster spread [of the virus] and the movement of vaccinated people increases, we may have an increase in mortality," Kluge said.

"We have to be honest: 2021 will be another COVID-19 year, but more manageable, more predictable," he said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, about 106.9 million people have contracted coronavirus globally, while more than 2.3 million have died.