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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has stated that the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic will end in 2022 “if we end inequity together.” As the world entered its third year of the pandemic, he delivered the message in his New Year’s address.
“While no country is immune to the pandemic, we now have a plethora of new tools for preventing and treating COVID-19. The longer inequity persists, the more likely it is that this virus will evolve in ways we cannot prevent or predict. If we eliminate inequity, we eliminate the pandemic “He stated.
Tedros stated that millions of people have missed out on routine vaccination, family planning services, and treatment for communicable and noncommunicable diseases, emphasising that Covid-19 is not the only health threat that the world’s people will face next year.
He also stated that “we established the new WHO BioHub System for countries to share novel biological materials” to help prepare the world for future epidemics and pandemics.
All countries must focus on vaccinating an increasing number of their citizens, according to the WHO chairman. “All countries must cooperate together to achieve the global goal of vaccinating 70% of the world’s population by the middle of 2022,” Tedros added.
Omicron, a new coronavirus variant, has recently emerged in South Africa, causing a worldwide increase in Covid-19 infection. The WHO has already labelled it as a “variant of concern.”
Tedros stated in a press conference a few days ago that “2022 must be the year we end the pandemic.”
The comments came after the WHO granted emergency use authorization to the ninth vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) under licence from Novavax. The new vaccine is part of the COVAX portfolio, according to the WHO chief, and it is hoped that it will help achieve global vaccination targets.
