The World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, voiced optimism on Thursday about the ability of vaccines to protect against current coronavirus variants, Deutsche Welle reports.
The comments come amid concerns surrounding the spread of variant B.1.617, which was first discovered in India and has been identified by the WHO as a variant of "concern."
The variant has so far been confirmed in 26 out of the 53 countries that span the region covered by the WHO Europe.
It also comes as Europe takes steps to re-open its doors to fully-vaccinated tourists.
Although urging health officials and the public to remain vigilant in the face of several COVID variants, the WHO emphasized that vaccinations and hygiene measures would help prevent the spread.
"All COVID-19 virus variants that have emerged so far do respond to the available, approved vaccines," Kluge said.
