He covid-19 has not disappeared. In fact, it has increased worldwide. This is what the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday, adding that it is “unlikely” that infections will decrease in the short term. In addition, it has observed that, due to the drop in vaccination coverageis increasing the risk of the emergence of a most virulent strain that could cause serious illness.
“Covid-19 is still very much present” and circulating in all countries, said WHO’s director of Pandemic Prevention, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove. This expert presented the data from the health agency’s surveillance system and explained that the tests (conducted in 84 countries) have yielded positive results in more than 10% of cases. “In Europe, this percentage is over 20%”he warned, explaining that new waves of infection have been recorded in America, Europe and the Western Pacific.
Van Kerkhove also explained that wastewater monitoring suggests that the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is two to twenty times higher than documented figures. And remember that this is happening right now at the Olympic Games, “where at least forty athletes tested positive.”
Risk of a more serious strain emerging
The expert recalled that as the virus continues to evolve and spread, there is a growing risk of a more severe strain of the virus emerging that can evade detection systems and not respond to medical intervention. “I am concerned,” said the WHO specialist, 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.”.
“As individuals, It is important to take action “to reduce the risk of infection and severe illness, including ensuring that you have received a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the past 12 months, especially if you are in a risk group,” Van Kerkhove said.
In this regard, he also regretted that Vaccine availability has decreased The number of vaccine producers has declined substantially over the past 18 months, as the number of coronavirus vaccine producers has shrunk. The WHO understands that it is very difficult for manufacturers to keep up production, “but let’s be very clear: there is a market for Covid-19 vaccines that are already made,” it said.
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