COVID-19 Has Not Yet Become Endemic, WHO Warns

Posted by harsh sultayia on January 13th, 2022

Geneva: Omicron variant of Covid-19 is dangerous - and especially for those who have not been vaccinated against this disease, the World Health Organization warns Wednesday.

WHO said global waves in cases were driven by Omicron, which was more contagious than the Delta variant which was previously dominant.

More than 15 million cases were reported to WHO last week - with millions of cases more considered not recorded.

But the UN health agency insisted on there should be no submission of variants, rejecting the idea that it could be a welcome channel to end the pandemic.

\"While Omicron causes a disease that is less severe than Delta, it remains a dangerous virus - especially for those who are not vaccinated,\" said Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.

\"We may not allow this virus to rise freely or wave a white flag, especially when so many people all over the world are still not vaccinated.\"

\"Great majority\" people who were hospitalized were not hit, he added.

While the vaccine remains very effective to prevent death and severe Covid-19 deaths, they do not completely prevent transmission, Tedro said.

\"More transmission means more inpatient, more death, more people from work - including teachers and health workers - and more risks from other variants that appear more contagious and more deadly than Omicron.\"

Tedros said that the number of deaths around the world was stabilized by around 50,000 per week.

\"Learning to live with this virus does not mean we can, or must, accept the number of deaths,\" he said.

Vaccine injustice

Tedros wanted each country to have 10 percent of their vaccinated population at the end of September 2021, 40 percent at the end of December, and 70 percent in mid 2022.

But 90 countries still have not reached 40 percent - with 36 of them still lacking a 10 percent mark, he said.

\"In Africa, more than 85 percent of people have not received a single dose of vaccines. We cannot end the acute phase of the pandemic unless we close this gap,\" Tedro said.

Rich countries have made it \"three times harder\" for low-income countries that are hunger by exporting wrong information than vaccines, said Bruce Aylward, The Who\'s Frontman to access the Coronavirus tool.

WHO said Omicron had been identified in 149 countries on January 6.

Some hope that because of increased transmission, Omicron will replace a more severe variant and see the Covid-19 shift from pandemics into endemic diseases that are easier to manage.

But who emergency director Michael Ryan said: \"This is not the time to declare this is a welcome virus.\"

Maria Van Kerkhove The WHO technical advantage in Covid-19, said it was difficult to predict the road in front and Omicron could not be the last variant of busy thoughts in the UN health agency.

\"We hope the virus will continue to evolve and become more fit ... We hope to see an outbreak among individuals who are not vaccinated,\" he said.

\"The virus is on his way to be endemic - but we haven\'t been there.\"

Meanwhile Tedros said pregnant women did not have a higher risk of capturing Covid-19, but at a higher risk of developing severe illnesses if they did it.

He called for a pregnant woman to have access to the vaccine, and to be included in the trial for new care and jab.