WHO warns of rising virus cases, cites jab complacency
By People Daily, April 13, 2021The World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning that Covid-19 cases and deaths are rising globally, partly because of the thinking that vaccines will stop the spread of the disease.
The latest report confirms more than 133.5 million cases of coronavirus infections, including nearly 3 million global deaths.
Data show a worrisome uptick in coronavirus cases and deaths in all regions of the world, with Africa slightly less affected than other regions.
The WHO attributes this rise to several factors, including an increase in coronavirus variants, failure to practice public health measures and the resumption of so-called normal life when people emerge from lockdown.
Another problem, says WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris, is a growing complacency that the availability of vaccines will soon end the crisis.
Stop transmission
“People are seeming to think that vaccination will stop transmission. That is not the case.
We need to bring down the transmission while giving the vaccination the chance to stop the severe disease and the deaths,” Harris said.
The WHO reports nearly 670 million doses of vaccines have been administered globally. However, most of those doses have been given in wealthy countries. Furthermore, the WHO warns there is a critical shortage of vaccines.
Harris said some countries cannot start Covid-19 inoculation campaigns because of the serious shortfall of doses, especially in developing countries.
“So, again, what can be done about it? Doubling down on the public health social measures.
Truly understanding we have to keep on social distancing, we have to avoid indoor crowded settings. We have to keep wearing the masks, even if vaccinated,” she said.
The good news, Harris added, is preliminary results from countries such as Britain show that vaccination programs have averted very large numbers of deaths.
However, until most of the world is vaccinated, she said people must not let down their guard.
They must remain vigilant and practice the few simple public health measures that have been shown to work.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday the world has now seen seven consecutive weeks of rising Covid-19 infections and four consecutive weeks of increasing numbers of deaths after starting the year with six weeks of declining numbers.
At the agency’s Monday briefing from its headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the fourth-highest number of cases in a single week since the pandemic began occurred last week.
This, after the world has delivered more than 780 million doses of vaccine.
The WHO chief reiterated “confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures and their application” were driving up infections and costing lives. He said while vaccines are a vital and powerful tool in fighting the pandemic, they are not the only tool.
Tedros said the standard measures — social distancing, hygiene, masks and continued testing and tracking — work and save lives.
He noted that many countries have shown it is possible to bring the virus under control using and consistently applying these proven public health measures.
He noted countries where there is continuing transmission of the virus, and yet restaurants, nightclubs and markets are reopening, with people taking few precautions.
The director said WHO does not want to see endless lockdowns and wants to see societies and economies reopened and travel resumed.
“But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing, and people are dying — and it’s totally avoidable,” he said.
Tedros said the decline in cases and hospitalisations the world saw at the beginning of the year show the virus can be stopped.
With equitably distributed vaccines and consistent public health measures, he said, “we could bring the pandemic under control in a matter of months. Whether we do or not comes down to the decisions and the actions that governments and individuals make every day.”
WHO says Africa’s rollout of Covid-19 vaccine is being hampered by supply shortages and delays in planned deliveries.
To date, the WHO reports 4.3 million cases of Covid-19 in Africa, including 114,000 deaths.
A few countries are bucking the trend and making good progress in immunizing their populations against the deadly coronavirus.
The World Health Organisation says Morocco has purchased 8.7 million doses of vaccine and has administered more shots to its population than any other African country.
-VOA