COVID-19 infections are increasing worldwide and are unlikely to decrease in the near term, warned this Tuesday the World Health Organization (OMS), which also highlighted the risk that more serious variants of the coronavirus may soon emerge.
“COVID-19 is still very present” and circulates in all countriessaid WHO’s Director of Pandemic Prevention, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove.
At a press conference in Geneva, the epidemiologist indicated that data from the health agency’s surveillance system, based on sentinels in 84 countries, currently report that the percentage of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been increasing for several weeks.
“Tests with positive results exceed 10%, but the figure fluctuates depending on the region. In Europe, the percentage is over 20%,” he said.
In addition, there have been recorded new waves of infection in the Americas, Europe and the Western Pacific.
Wastewater surveillance suggests that SARS-CoV-2 circulation is two to 20 times higher than documented figures.
Atypical circulation during the summer
Such high infection circulation rates in the boreal summer months are atypical for respiratory viruses, which tend to spread mainly in cold temperatures.
However, in recent months, Many countries have experienced waves of COVID-19, regardless of the season.
This is happening right now at the Olympic Games, “where at least 40 athletes tested positive for COVID and other respiratory diseases”, says Van Kerkhove.
Growing risk of new strains
The expert stressed that as the virus continues to evolve and spread, there is a growing risk that a more severe strain of the virus emerges that can evade detection systems and not respond to medical intervention.
“I am worried,” the WHO specialist stressed, arguing that with such low vaccination coverage and such large circulation, “if we had a variant that was more virulent, the susceptibility of at-risk populations to developing severe disease would be enormous“, he added.
Strengthening vaccination campaigns
While hospital admissions, including those in intensive care, remain much lower than during the peak of the pandemic, WHO urged governments to strengthen vaccination campaigns, ensuring that the highest risk groups receive vaccinations at least once every twelve months.
“As individuals, it is important to take steps to reduce the risk of infection and serious illness.including ensuring that you have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the last twelve months, especially if you belong to a risk group,” Van Kerkhove emphasized.
The WHO said that vaccine availability has declined substantially over the past 18 months because the number of coronavirus vaccine producers has shrunk.
Dr. Van Kerkhove said it is very difficult for manufacturers to keep up production rates, even though they do not need to keep up the pace of 2021 and 2022. “But let’s be very clear: there is a market for COVID-19 vaccines that are already made.
As for the nasal vaccines, he said, are still under development and explained that they could address transmission, thus reducing the risk of more variants, infections and severe disease.
