WHO is pushing for a 70% vaccination rate and balanced use of strategies.
Key Takeaways:
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that if every country can vaccinate 70% of their population, the world could finish the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic this year.
- He said the WHO provided countries with strategies, tools, techniques, and operational support during the pandemic.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated on Sunday that the world could finish the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic this year if every country can vaccinate 70% of their populations against the illness, especially at-risk populations. He also called for a "comprehensive and equitable" application of available strategies and tools.
The WHO proclaimed the Covid-19 pandemic a public health emergency of international concern 2 years ago in 2020, and also the UN health chief made his remarks on Sunday.
"#OnThisDay two years ago, I proclaimed the #COVID19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern to raise awareness of the threat. Since early January 2020, @WHO has been sharing counsel with countries to assist them in responding, and we haven't stopped," Ghebreyesus wrote in a tweet.
He also reiterated his earlier remarks that countries must strive to vaccinate 70% of their populations to end the pandemic as a global health emergency.
"We could end the acute phase of the #COVID19 pandemic this year if we immunize 70% of the population of every nation, with a concentrate on the most at-risk groups, as well as use all strategies and tools comprehensively and equitably," Ghebreyesus tweeted later.
He said the world might be living with Covid for the "foreseeable future" during his opening statement at the 150th WHO executive board gathering session on January 24.
He also stated that the world has seen almost 350 million cases and 5.5 million deaths in the last two years, numbers he described as an "underestimate."
He said the WHO provided countries with strategies, tools, techniques, and operational support during the pandemic. "We can end the severe phase of the pandemic this year if countries use all of these techniques and tools comprehensively," he said. "We can end Covid-19 as a global health emergency this year if nations use all of these methods and tools comprehensively."
He also stated that countries should strive to "reduce mortality through strong clinical management, starting with primary health care, and equitable access to diagnostics, oxygen, and antivirals at the point of care."
While vaccines alone were not a "golden ticket" out of the pandemic, he added that if the target of 70% vaccination coverage in every country is met, there is no other way out.