Geneva:
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his first speech of 2022 revealed that the record number of people is getting infected by Omicron variant of COVID-19. He said the new strain has been killing millions around the globe and therefore, it should not be considered mild.
The WHO chief added that the record number of people getting affected by the new variant meant hospitals were being overwhelmed. During a press conference, Tedros said while Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to the Delta variant which was the last predominant strain affecting the world, it does not mean it should be categorised as mild.
He went on to explain, “Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and it is killing people,” adding that the “tsunami” of cases is so huge and quick that it is overwhelming health systems around the world.
Tedros also cited the numbers, stating that just under 9.5 million new cases were reported to the WHO last week, an astonishing 71 per cent higher than the week before. However, according to the WHO chief, even this is an underestimation, since it did not reflect the backlog of testing during the Holiday season, positive self-tests that were not registered and overworked surveillance systems that were missing cases.
Tedros, on his part, slammed the rich countries for stocking up on vaccines, urging for greater equality globally in the distribution of and access to vaccines.
As per WHO, with the current pace of COVID-19 vaccination, 109 countries are likely to miss the 70 per cent target of the world’s population to be fully vaccinated by July 2022.
According to WHO adviser Bruce Aylward, 36 nations had not even reached 10 per cent vaccination.
While WHO lead on clinical management, Janet Diaz, said early studies showed that there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation from Omicron, that was first identified in southern Africa and Hong Kong compared to Delta, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryann stressed that without vaccine equity, countries would be sitting at the end of 2022, “having somewhat the same conversation, which, in itself, would be a great tragedy”.
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