The World Health Organization has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over.
This is as the Omicron variant, which spreads faster than any other Covid variant, continues to overwhelm the health care systems of some countries.
Speaking on Tuesday during a media briefing in Geneva, the WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the pandemic is far from over.
It has been reported that Europe is currently the epicentre of new alarming outbreaks. In Germany, cases are soaring past 100,000 a day, and France reported nearly half a million cases on Tuesday.
Tedros urged people and governments to get vaccinated.
“This pandemic is nowhere near over as the omicron variant continues to sweep the world. I remain concerned about countries with low vaccination rates, as unvaccinated people are many times more at risk of severe illness and death,” Tedros said.
WHO has predicted Omicron could infect half of all Europeans by March, filling hospitals across the continent.
Last week, there were more than 18 million reported cases worldwide.
Over the weekend, the UN-backed COVAX facility delivered its one-billionth dose of vaccine. The facility has led the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history with deliveries to 144 countries to date.
Tedros said he was proud of the milestone, but believes it’s essential to keep forging ahead with distributing shots fairly, across the world.
“Vaccines may be less effective at preventing infection and transmission of Omicron than they were for previous variants, but they still are exceptionally good at preventing serious disease and death,” he explained.
“I urge everyone to do their best to reduce risk of infection and help take pressure off health systems,” he said BY THE STAR