The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic could end if around 70% of the world’s people are vaccinated. The head of the United Nations health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in an interview in South Africa, “Our expectation is that the acute phase of this global pandemic This year will surely end with one condition, 70% vaccination (target achieved) by the middle of this year, around June, July”.
Tedros was speaking during a visit to Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines, which has developed the first mRNA COVID vaccine made in Africa using sequences from Moderna.
Last month also the WHO boss made a similar claim on Twitter. “This year, we may end the acute phase covid-19 pandemic If we vaccinate 70% of the population of every country, focusing on the most at-risk groups, and using all strategies and tools comprehensively and equitably,” he said in a post.
Earlier, the WHO’s head of emergencies, Dr Michael Ryan, said the coronavirus pandemic – deaths, hospitalizations and lockdowns – could end this year if the huge disparities in vaccinations and medicines are addressed quickly. .
The United Nations has condemned the disparity in COVID vaccination between rich and poor countries. According to the WHO, less than 10% of people in low-income countries have received even a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The world panicked after an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant late last year, which caused daily infections to be four times higher than in previous waves.
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