Although the spread of Covid-19 has slowed in some countries due to blockages and vaccination programs, it is “premature” and “unrealistic” to think the pandemic will end by the end of the year, according to the executive director. of the World Health Organization (WHO). emergency services have said.
At a press conference in Geneva, Dr Michael Ryan said that while vaccinating the most vulnerable people, including health workers, would help eliminate the “tragedy and fear” of the situation and help ease the pressure on hospitals , the “virus is under control”.
“It’s going to be very premature and I think it’s unrealistic to think we’re going to end this virus by the end of the year,” Ryan said.
“If vaccines start to affect not only death and not just hospitalization, but have a significant impact on transmission dynamics and the risk of transmission, I think we will accelerate toward controlling this pandemic.”
The number of new global infections rose last week for the first time in almost two months. The reported cases increased in four of the six WHO regions: America, 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 these increases in transmission. Part of it seems to be due to the relaxation of public health measures, the continued circulation of variants and the people leaving the guard.
He said that while vaccines would help save lives, “if countries rely solely on vaccines, they make a mistake.”
“Basic public health measures remain the basis of the response,” he said.
Tedros also highlighted inequality in access to vaccines. He welcomed the first doses of Covid-19 vaccine being administered in Africa on Monday in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. But he added that “it is unfortunate that this happens almost three months after some of the richest countries began their vaccination campaigns.”
“And it is unfortunate that some countries continue to prioritize vaccination of younger, healthier adults with lower risk of disease in their own populations over health workers and the elderly elsewhere,” he said. .
“Countries are not in a race against each other, it is a common race against the virus.
We do not ask countries to put their own people at risk. We call on all countries to be part of a global effort to suppress the virus everywhere.
“We are also concerned about the reported detention of health workers in Myanmar that could affect the response to Covid-19 and the provision of other essential health services. And in Ethiopia, the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region has left out “action many health centers and hospitals. We are deeply concerned about the risk of disease due to lack of food, clean water, shelter and access to health care.”