The Covid-19 pandemic is far from over as the world is seeing 1.5 million new cases each day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday.
Large outbreaks are spreading in Asia, and a new wave is sweeping across Europe. Some countries are reporting their highest death rates since the start of the pandemic, he added.
The spread of Omicron – now surging in the form of the BA2 variant in many parts of the world – was a startling reminder of how quickly Covid can mutate and spread – especially in the absence of high vaccination coverage, the UN chief said.
A third of the planet is still lacking even one dose, and yet, some high-income countries are preparing for their second booster doses.
“This is a brutal indictment of our deeply unequal world. It’s also a prime breeding ground for new variants, more deaths, and increased human and economic misery,” Guterres said.
“We are far from our target of every country reaching 70 percent vaccination coverage by the middle of this year. And with new variants emerging roughly every four months, time is of the essence.”
New wave a reminder that Covid far from over, says UN chief
The UN chief said there was plenty of global supply of vaccines, with 1.5 billion doses per month being manufactured, and the remarkable procurement, shipment and delivery system of the COVAX Facility and its Advance Market Commitment mechanism, had managed to deliver 1.2 billion doses so far to countries in need.
“This proves that progress is possible. But the window is closing fast. And we need to help all countries prepare for future pandemics by multiplying the number of countries able to locally produce tests, vaccines and treatments,” he added.
Guterres was addressing the GAVI COVAX international vaccine equity initiative’s Advance Market Commitment Summit 2022, which saw world leaders commit $4.8 billion to help lower-income nations boost vaccination rates, and secure better access to new vaccine procurements.
The GAVI Vaccine Alliance hosted the summit alongside the G7 president, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia (which holds the presidency of the G20 industrialised nations forum), and the African Union chair, Senegal.
Guterres said to reach the billions who have so far not received vaccine shots, countries needed to fulfil and accelerate dose-sharing and donation commitments to COVAX, with better quality of supply.
Source: United News of Bangladesh