The European Union on Monday approved its fifth Coronavirus vaccine made by Novavax amid the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant across several parts of the world. Omicron reportedly has higher transmissibility and worrying resistance to vaccines compared to the Delta COVID-19 variant. 

The European Medicines Agency's human medicines committee gave approval to Novavax with the aim of preventing COVID-19 infection in people aged 18 and above. Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid uses a more conventional technology to fight the infection in the body. The biotech firm is expecting the vaccine to reduce hesitancy among the public amid the rising concerns over new COVID-19 variants. 

After meeting in Amsterdam, the EU's drug regulator issued a statement, saying "a conditional marketing authorisation has been granted to Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid to prevent COVID-19 in people from 18 years of age. 

It is the fifth COVID-19 vaccine approved by the European Union after vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Furthermore, the bloc has already signed a deal to buy up to 200 million doses of the two-shot vaccine. Novavax has affirmed that its vaccine has a 90.4 percent efficacy against COVID-19 as proven by a North American trial.

Meanwhile, world governments are scrambling efforts to ensure vaccination among the public. Authorities have urged eligible people to take the vaccine booster to enhance protection against the new variants. Early data has suggested that a third vaccine dose helps in increased protection against Omicron.

On Monday, Moderna announced a complete dose of its vaccine given as a booster provides higher antibody protection against the variant than existing authorised half-strength injections. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel underlined that the results have been reassuring, adding that the firm is continuously developing an Omicron-specific vaccine.

With the risk of COVID-19 infection increasing in several parts of the world, the World Economic Forum has also announced the postponement of its annual summit in Davos scheduled for January 17-21. 

"Despite the meeting's stringent health protocols, the transmissibility of Omicron and its impact on travel and mobility have made deferral necessary," the WEF said in its statement on Monday.

Washington's top pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci has also warned crucial times ahead due to the severity of Omicron. In the US, a little more than 70 percent of the total population has taken at least one dose of the vaccine. However, about 50 million eligible people remain unprotected. 

"With Omicron... it is going to be a tough few weeks to months as we get deeper into the winter," Fauci said. 

Christmas lockdown

Several European countries including Germany and the Netherlands have implemented strict safety measures with the Christmas holiday season coming up. Germany has tightened restrictions for the unvaccinated, barring them from most public places. 

"If the spread of the Omicron variant in Germany continues as it has done so far, a significant part of the population will fall sick and/or will go into quarantine simultaneously," a report by the 19-member panel said.

The Netherlands imposed a Christmas lockdown in the region to prevent the virus from spreading. At the same time, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned of rising dominance of the Omicron variant by mid-January.

Israel's health ministry has added a number of European countries to its COVID-19 "red list".