World Health Organization director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the Covid-19 death toll fell last week to its lowest level of nearly 50,000 deaths in a year.
“It’s still an unacceptably high level, about 50,000 deaths a week,” Tedros said. And the actual number is certainly higher.
Tedros urged countries and companies controlling the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to prioritize supplies to COVAX, the vaccine sharing program, to meet vaccination targets.
“We are working with leaders to prioritize and support the planning that is needed to make 40% coverage a reality with aggressive and ambitious action,” he said.
The WHO said on Wednesday that its newly formed advisory group on dangerous pathogens could be “our last chance” to determine the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and called for cooperation from China.
The first human cases of COVID-19 were reported in December 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. China has repeatedly dismissed theories that the virus leaked from one of its laboratories and said no more visits were needed.
A WHO-led team spent four weeks in and around Wuhan with Chinese scientists earlier this year, and said in a joint report in March that the virus was possibly transmitted from bats to humans via another animal, But further research was needed.
Don’t miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint.
download
Our App Now!!
.