Despite the spread of Covid-19 being slowed in some countries due to lockdowns and vaccination programs, it is ‘premature’ and ‘unrealistic’ to think that the pandemic will be over by the end of the year, said the director of the World Health Organisation. emergency services said.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Dr. Michael Ryan said that vaccinating the most vulnerable people, including health workers, would help remove “tragedy and fear” from the situation and ease the pressure on hospitals. under control”.
“It will be very premature, and I think it is unrealistic, to think that we will be done with this virus by the end of the year,” said Ryan.
“If the vaccines start to affect not only death and not only hospitalization, but also have a significant impact on transmission dynamics and transmission risk, then I think we will get this pandemic under control more quickly.”
The number of new global infections rose last week for the first time in almost two months. The number of reported cases increased in four of the six WHO regions: the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean.
“This is disappointing, but not surprising,” said WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“We are working to better understand this increase in transmission. Some of it appears to be the result of relaxation of public health measures, continued circulation of variants, and people who have dropped their guard. “
He said that while vaccines would help save lives, “if countries rely solely on vaccines, they are making a mistake.”
“Basic public health measures remain the basis of the response,” he said.
Tedros also pointed out inequality in access to vaccines. He welcomed the first doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered Monday in Africa, Ivory Coast and Ghana. But he added that “it is unfortunate that this comes nearly three months after some of the wealthiest countries started their vaccination campaigns.”
“And it is regrettable that some countries continue to prioritize the vaccination of younger, healthier adults with a lower risk of disease in their own population over health workers and the elderly elsewhere,” he said.
“Countries are not in a race with each other, this is a very common race against the virus.
We do not ask countries to endanger their own people. We ask all countries to participate in a global effort to suppress the virus everywhere.
“We are also concerned about the reported arrest of health workers in Myanmar, which could affect the response to Covid-19 and the delivery of other essential health services. And in Ethiopia, the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region has put many health facilities and hospitals out of action. We are deeply concerned about the risk of disease from lack of food, clean water, shelter and access to healthcare. “