WHO says COVID-19 cases have doubled across much of the world in the past month

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that COVID-19 infections doubled last month in five of its six geographic regions and that the situation is dramatic in Africa, where at the same period deaths from this disease have increased by 80%, which is mainly attributed to the circulation of the Delta variant.

The Delta variant (originally identified in India) it is twice as transmissible as the original virus that triggered the pandemic and may result in more hospitalizations, but does not lead to higher mortality and does not affect children moresaid the head of the organization’s anticovid technical cell, Maria Von Kerkhove.

The way to contain your transmission is the same, In other words, apply all the measures established since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as social distancing, hand hygiene, the use of a mask, the rapid detection of cases, contact tracing and isolation, and vaccination when possible.

The organization’s experts warn that more variants will appear as the virus continues to circulate, adapts to the environment and changes to ensure its survival.

PROGRESS IN IMMUNIZATION AROUND THE WORLD

At a virtual press conference from Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that At the current rate, in less than two weeks, the 200 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be exceeded, although he recalled that “we all know the numbers are underestimated”.

Currently, 29 countries suffer from a lack of oxygen supply and several others lack basic equipment for patient care, said the manager, showing that although the situation has improved a lot in regions or countries with high vaccination rates, globally, the pandemic continues to affect millions of people.

WHO has denounced that Availability of COVID-19 tests in Africa is less than 2%, as far as rich countries are concerned, “which leaves most of the world blind to understand where the virus is and how it evolves”.

Despite calls the WHO has been making for months to promote access to vaccines for the poorest countries, Tedros said little progress had been made and acknowledged that at this rate, it seems unlikely that the target of at least 10% of the population in each country will be fully immunized by the end of September and 40% by the end of the year will be hit.

Until, Only half of countries have reached 10% immunization coverage, less than a quarter have reached 40% and only 3 countries in the world have immunized 70% of their population, level established to achieve the collective immunity required to end the pandemic.

SITUATION WORDS IN AFRICA

“All regions are at risk, but none like Africa. As we go, 10% of the population will not be vaccinated in seven out of ten countries on the continent “Tedros argued.

On the poorest continent less than 2% of all inoculated doses worldwide have been administered and only 1.5% of its population has the full immunization schedule.

For this, instead of the 3.5 to 4 million doses that are currently administered in Africa each week, it would need to increase to over 22 million.

“The decision on the progression of immunization in Africa is not in the hands of Africans, but in the hands of certain leaders and boards of directors of the companies that produce the vaccines, the countries where they are located and those who have signed contracts to control the majority of available vaccines, ”said Dr Bruce Aylward, who is responsible for the COVAX program, created to promote equitable distribution of vaccines.

Faced with the Israeli government’s decision to invite people over 60 to receive a third dose of the COVID vaccine, WHO considers that if countries with high immunization rates change their priorityThey must do this to allow vaccines to reach parts of the world where they are not accessible.

(With information from EFE)

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