Strong surveillance, strategic testing critical amid new variant circulation – WHO Head

…says no country “is out of the woods”

Circulation of the deadly Delta variant and other variants of concern has refreshed the need for robust surveillance and testing, in order for countries to control their local state of affairs and prevent infections.

This was the position shared by World Health Organisation Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom during a press briefing on Friday.
At this stage of the pandemic, he emphasised that overflowing hospitals are becoming a norm again and no country is out of the woods yet. The circulation of the Delta variant, first detected in India, has created severe ripples in infections and contributed to increased death.
“The Delta variant is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate, which requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response. Delta has been detected in at least 98 countries and is spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage. There are essentially two ways for countries to push back against new surges,” Adhanom opined.
With this scenario in mind, it was cautioned that health authorities need to step up their monitoring and testing game in order to safeguard their respective populations. Moreover, governments are asked to work towards 70 per cent vaccination of its people by this time in 2022.
“Public health and social measures like strong surveillance, strategic testing, early case detection, isolation and clinical care remain critical. As well as masking, physical distance, avoiding crowded places and keeping indoor areas well ventilated are the basis for the response. And second, the world must equitably share protective gear, oxygen, tests, treatments and vaccines.”
By the end of September 2021, the WHO has urged leaders to ensure that at least 10 per cent of its people is vaccinated. In Guyana, this target was surpassed amid Guyana’s robust vaccination programme and the availability of vaccines.
The Director General pointed out, “This is the best way to slow the pandemic, save lives, drive a truly global economic recovery and along the way prevent further dangerous variants from getting the upper hand…This would protect health workers and those at most risk, effectively ending the acute stage of the pandemic and saving a lot of lives. It’s a challenge but we know it’s possible because already three billion vaccines have been distributed.”
Presently, manufacturing is increasing and the vaccines are being shared among countries. However, he opined that this is only a “trickle” and is being outpaced by variants. Companies were urged to share their expertise with other stakeholders to ramp up production.
“In those countries whose hospitals are filling up, they need vaccines and other health tools right now. New manufacturing hubs – including for mRNA vaccines – are being developed but this could be accelerated by companies openly sharing technology and know-how. In particular, I urge those companies – BioNTech, Pfizer and Moderna – to share their know-how so that we can speed up the development of new production.”
Earlier in the week, leaders of International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation and World Health Organisation converged to look at practical ways to track, coordinate and advance the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.
In terms of vaccine certificates, the WHO Head asserted that countries should accept vaccines which have been granted approval through their protocols, since it is subjected to rigorous evaluation.
“Some countries, regions, have launched so-called vaccine certificates and I want to make it very clear that it is important that these do not lead to discrimination against those people and countries that have either a lack of vaccines or certain type of vaccine. As you know, WHO issues Emergency Use Listings for vaccines based on a stringent assessment of safety and efficacy and we expect all countries to recognise and accept those vaccines that WHO has approved.”