“With one million people dying from COVID-19 this year alone, and two and a half years into the pandemic, we cannot say that we have learned to live with COVID-19. All the tools you need to prevent these deathssaid Tedros at a regular briefing from Geneva.
he again to all governments Step up action to vaccinate all health workers, the elderly and others at highest riskas part of efforts to inoculate 70% of the world’s population.
Priority group progress
Tedros is pleased to see it gaining ground in some of the countries with the lowest immunization coverage, especially in Africa.
In January, WHO and partners launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Partnership. This is primarily focused on the 34 countries with coverage below 10%. All but six are on the continent.
Currently, there are only 10 countries with less than 10% coverage, most of which are facing humanitarian emergencies.
Vaccination is still delayed
While welcoming progress on reporting on priority groups, Tedros stressed that more needs to be done. One-third of the world’s population is unvaccinated.
This includes two-thirds of health workers and three-quarters of older people in low-income countries.
“Countries at all income levels should vaccinate those most at risk, ensure access to life-saving treatments, continue testing and sequencing, limit transmission and save lives. More must be done to set coordinated and balanced policies to save the world, which is the best way to drive a truly sustainable recovery,” he said. said.
© Harun Turnai
A man recovering from monkeypox in a London hospital.
monkeypox reversal
Meanwhile, the Americas region continues to experience intense monkeypox transmission, although the number of global cases fell by more than 20% last week.
Most cases in the early stages of the outbreak occurred in Europe, with a small percentage of cases in the Americas, but now the situation has been reversed.
Currently, less than 40% of reported cases are in Europe and 60% in the Americas.
A combination of effective public health measures, behavioral changes and vaccination has helped prevent transmission, Tedros reported.
“But especially in Latin America, Inadequate awareness or public health measures is combined with Lack of access to vaccines To fan the flames of outbreak,” he said.
Tedros thanked vaccine manufacturer Bayern Nordic. The company on Wednesday signed an agreement with the WHO’s Regional Office for the Americas to help access monkeypox vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He expressed hope that the development would help control the outbreak in the region.
