LONDON — New Covid-19 variants are likely to keep on emerging until the whole world is vaccinated against the virus, experts warn, saying that the sharing of vaccines is not just an altruistic act but a pragmatic one.

“So long as the entire world, and not only rich Western countries is vaccinated,” I believe we will continue to be at risk of new strains of omicron, Dr. Andrew Freedman from Cardiff University Medical School told CNBC.

Freedman observed that virus “tends to become milder” with each evolution, however, he warned that “isn’t always the case”.

It is possible that future versions will be even more contagious. They may also be less severe, however, we cannot be certain.

Our World in Data reports that 58.6% has had at least one Covid vaccination, and there have been 9.28 Billion worldwide.

Most adult population are fully protected against Covid, especially in Western, wealthy countries such as the U.S. and Europe. Many of these shots are also being given to young teens or even children.

Our World in Data shows that only 8.5% have had at least one vaccine in countries with low income.

Covid vaccines are proven to be effective in protecting people from severe infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. In addition to the potential to save many millions of lives through increased vaccination coverage, this will also help to prevent any new types from emerging. Large numbers of unvaccinated people allow the virus to significantly spread far more easily and to mutate as it does so.

Gavi is the part of Covax and is the vaccine alliance. Gavi says that this initiative is necessary “because there is a very real danger that most people in the world will not be protected against SARS CoV-2 (Covid-19). This would allow for the virus’s impact to continue unabated.”

As with all viruses, coronavirus has continued to evolve since its initial appearance in China in the latter part of 2019. Some viruses have been more resistant to certain mutations. Variants like the “alpha”, first identified in the U.K. on September 2020, and given the WHO’s name, have spread all over the globe, supplanting previous strains.

In October 2020, the Indian alpha-variant was found to be the new “delta”. Now we have to deal with “omicron”, a much more transmittable variant of delta that has been observed in the past few years. However, it is also causing less severe disease according to increasing numbers of scientific studies.

A growing number of countries make or will make Covid vaccination mandatory for certain workers, such as care home staff and health care professionals. Other countries require it for specific age groups that are considered more risky. Greece, for example, has made vaccines compulsory for people over 60. Italy on Wednesday made vaccination mandatory for anyone over the age of 50. Not surprisingly, mandatory shots are controversial and have provoked protests from many quarters.

Freedman stated that it is better to educate and encourage people than to force shots, but “it’s still desirable to have as many people immunized”