Health Minister: Fourth pandemic wave expected to culminate end of January

Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky announced that he expects the fourth pandemic wave in Slovakia, which will most likely be caused by the coronavirus omicron variant, to culminate around the end of January. While the data the Health Ministry has at its disposal indicates that omicron will spread at a very fast pace, Lengvarsky conceded that there’s a lack of information regarding the variant.
 
"What we do know, however, is that our population isn’t sufficiently vaccinated. That means the level of sensitivity of a large portion of the public, especially the older generation, is high, be it to the delta or omicron variant. There’s a risk of hospitals filling up," said the minister.
 
Should vaccines developed specifically to deal with the omicron variant appear on the market, the Health Ministry will aim to purchase them, pledged Lengvarsky.