Vaccination rates for older people and health workers have fallen alarmingly and have reached a miserable level, said WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove in Geneva. “We urgently need a turnaround here.” Among all corona tests, the proportion of positive results has been rising for several weeks and is over ten percent.
Rate in Europe at over 20 percent
In Europe, the rate is over 20 percent, as the WHO reported based on data from 84 countries. Wastewater analyses showed that the virus was much more widespread than infection statistics suggested, said Van Kerkhove. She also pointed out that more than 40 athletes tested positive at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Not comparable to pandemic phase
However, the epidemiologist stressed that the current situation is not comparable to the pandemic phase because today many more people are protected from severe disease progression through vaccinations and previous infections. Van Kerkhove also pointed out that the WHO only receives data on the number of corona treatments in hospitals and intensive care units from very few countries. “We are blind to the burden of disease,” she said.
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