COVID-19 deaths in vaccinated countries decline – WHO

…positive cases, deaths reported to WHO decline – Director General

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its documentation of statistics from around the world to keep track of the novel coronavirus has identified a trend, whereby new cases have been on the decline for the past six weeks.

Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared this information during a press conference on Monday, where he added that deaths have also been decreasing for the last five weeks.
There are 173,005,553 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,727,605 deaths reported to the Organisation. As of Saturday, a total of 1,900,955,505 vaccine doses have been administered.
Even with an overall global plunge in statistics, the number of deaths reported last week increased in three out of the Organisation’s six regions: Africa, the Americas and the Western Pacific.
“The number of new cases of COVID-19 reported to WHO has now declined for six weeks, and deaths have declined for five weeks… Globally, we continue to see encouraging signs in the trajectory of the pandemic,” Dr Ghebreyesus posited.
He continued that there is still a mixed picture around the world, regarded as a two-track pandemic. It is whereby many countries still face an extremely dangerous situation, while some of those with the highest vaccination rates are considering ending restrictions.
“In countries with the greatest access to vaccines, we are seeing a decline in mortality among older age groups. In these countries, the public health and social measures that have helped to protect people are being eased, but they must be eased cautiously, and adjusted in line with viral circulation and response capacities.”
During the briefing, the Director General warned that the Delta variant, previously known as the “Indian variant” is one of concern and lifting restrictions too quickly could prove disastrous for those that are not vaccinated. This variant is a sub-lineage of the B.1.617.2 strain.
“Many countries don’t have that option, because they don’t have enough vaccines. In these countries, the continued use of tailored public health measures is the best way to suppress transmission. The inequitable distribution of vaccines has allowed the virus to continue spreading, increasing the chances of a variant emerging that renders vaccines less effective,” he added.
Statistics show that six months since the first vaccines were administered, high-income countries have administered almost 44 per cent of the world’s doses, leaving low-income countries with just about 0.4 per cent vaccination.
Dr Ghebreyesus stressed, “The most frustrating thing about this statistic is that it hasn’t changed in months. Inequitable vaccination is a threat to all nations, not just those with the fewest vaccines. Several countries have made significant pledges to share doses. We’re grateful to those countries and we look forward to those pledges being fulfilled in June and July.”
At the World Health Assembly, he would have called for a massive global effort to vaccinate at least 10 per cent per cent of the population of all countries by September, and at least 30 per cent by the end of the year.
To reach these targets, there is need for an additional 250 million doses by September and 100 million doses just in June and July.
“I also call on all manufacturers to give COVAX first right of refusal on new volume of vaccines, or to commit 50 per cent of their volumes to COVAX this year. COVAX is the best way to distribute vaccines quickly and equitably. Sharing vaccines now is essential for ending the acute phase of the pandemic. But it’s also clear that in an emergency, low-income countries cannot rely solely on imports of vaccines from wealthier nations. Investing in local production is critical, for COVID-19 vaccines and for producing routine immunisations and other health products.”
The WHO has pledged to continue supporting countries, identifying bottlenecks and providing solutions to these issues. The agency is in receipt of expressions of interest from a number of companies interested in transferring their technology and establishing production plants.
“We continue to call on companies with mRNA technology to share it through the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool – the result can be a win-win for both the owner of the know-how as well as for public health. The biggest barrier to ending the pandemic remains sharing: of doses, of resources, of technology.” (G12)