Meeting reporters in Geneva, the head of the United Nations health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says the “spike” is being driven by the Omicron variant, which is rapidly displacing Delta in most countries.
Despite the number of cases, the number of deaths reported weekly has remained “stable” since last October, at an average of 48,000, Tedros added. The number of hospitalized patients is also increasing in most countries, but it is not at the levels seen in previous waves.
He told reporters that this could be due to the reduced severity of Omicron and widespread immunity from vaccinations or previous infections.
’50 thousand deaths is too much’
Give WHO growth, while Omicron causes less serious illness than Delta, it is still a dangerous virus, especially for unvaccinated people.
“Nearly 50,000 deaths per week is 50,000 deaths too much,” said Tedros. “Learning to live with this virus doesn’t mean we can, or should, accept this number of deaths.”
For him, the world cannot “allow this virus to go free” when so many people around the world are still unvaccinated.
In Africa, for example, more than 85% of people still have not received a dose of the vaccine.
“We cannot end the acute phase of the pandemic unless we close this gap,” he said.
Making progress
Tedros then listed some progress in achieving the goal of immunizing 70% of every country’s population by the middle of this year.
In December, COVAX shipped double the number of doses distributed in November. In the coming days, the initiative will ship its one billionth dose of the vaccine.
Some of the supply constraints from last year are also starting to ease, Tedros said, but there is still a long way to go.
To date, 90 countries have yet to meet the 40% target, and 36 of them have vaccinated less than 10% of their population.
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New vaccine
Tedros also marked aprovisional statementare fromWHOThe Technical Advisory Group on the Composition of COVID-19 Vaccines, released Tuesday, emphasizes the need for other vaccines that have a greater impact on preventing infection.
Until such vaccines are developed, the composition of existing vaccines may need to be updated, experts explain.
The Group also said that a vaccination strategy based on booster doses is “not likely to be sustainable”.
A big number
According to Tedros, the majority of people hospitalized around the world are unvaccinated.
At the same time, while immunizations are still very effective in preventing serious illness and death, they do not completely prevent transmission.
“More transmission means more hospitalizations, more deaths, more people out of work, including teachers and healthcare workers, and the risk of a variable,” explains Tedros. The other is even more contagious and more deadly than Omicron.”
Employees work on a COVID-19 vaccine production line in India., By © UNICEF / Dhiraj Singh
The high number of cases also means more pressure on already overwhelmed and exhausted healthcare workers.
A study published last year found that more than one in four healthcare workers have experienced mental health problems during the pandemic. Data from several countries also shows that many people have considered leaving or have left their jobs.
Pregnant women
On Tuesday, WHO held Global webinar, involving clinicians from around the world, on the clinical management of viruses during pregnancy, childbirth, and the early postpartum period.
As stated earlier during the pandemic, pregnant women are not at greater risk of contracting COVID-19, but if they do become infected, they are at higher risk of severe illness.
“That is why it is important that pregnant women in all countries have access to vaccines to protect their own lives and that of their unborn babies.,” said Tedros.
The head of the agency also called for pregnant women to be included in clinical trials for new treatments and vaccines.
He also stressed that, fortunately, mother-to-child transmission in utero or during delivery is rare and no active virus has been identified in breast milk.
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