Episode Details
Back to Episodes
WHO Update on Covid 19 and War in Ukraine
Published 4 years ago
Description
The global increase in COVID-19 cases continues, driven by large outbreaks in Asia and a fresh wave in Europe.
Several countries are now seeing their highest death rates since the beginning of the pandemic.
This reflects the speed with which Omicron spreads, and the heightened risk of death for those who are not vaccinated, especially older people.
We all want to move on from the pandemic. But no matter how much we wish it away, this pandemic is not over.
Until we reach high vaccination coverage in all countries, we will continue to face the risk of infections surging, and new variants emerging that evade vaccines.
Even as some high-income countries propose a second booster dose, one third of the world’s population remains unvaccinated.
But there are some promising signs of progress.
In Nigeria, for example, vaccine uptake was dramatically increased when supply stabilized, and planning was done on how to effectively distribute vaccines.
WHO’s target remains to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year, with priority given to health workers, older people and other at-risk groups.
Achieving that target is essential to save lives, prevent the risk of long COVID, protect health systems and increase population immunity.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.
Several countries are now seeing their highest death rates since the beginning of the pandemic.
This reflects the speed with which Omicron spreads, and the heightened risk of death for those who are not vaccinated, especially older people.
We all want to move on from the pandemic. But no matter how much we wish it away, this pandemic is not over.
Until we reach high vaccination coverage in all countries, we will continue to face the risk of infections surging, and new variants emerging that evade vaccines.
Even as some high-income countries propose a second booster dose, one third of the world’s population remains unvaccinated.
But there are some promising signs of progress.
In Nigeria, for example, vaccine uptake was dramatically increased when supply stabilized, and planning was done on how to effectively distribute vaccines.
WHO’s target remains to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year, with priority given to health workers, older people and other at-risk groups.
Achieving that target is essential to save lives, prevent the risk of long COVID, protect health systems and increase population immunity.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.