The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a strong warning that the second year of Covid-19 is set to be "far more deadly."
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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, (WHO) Director-General issued the warning on Friday, May 14.
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He stated that “we’re on track for the second year of this pandemic to be far more deadly than the first.”
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The DG added that trickle-down vaccination is not an effective strategy for fighting a deadly respiratory virus as COVID-19 has already cost more than 3.3 million lives.
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“Vaccine supply remains a key challenge, but this week I’ve been pleased to see leaders & manufacturers working to: share doses with COVAX, make new deals involving tech-transfer and sharing of know-how and call for lifting trade barriers as soon as possible.” Tedros said.
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According to the Director-General, in a handful of rich countries, lower-risk groups are now being vaccinated.
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“I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to COVAX.
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Because in low and lower-middle-income countries, vaccine supply has not been enough to even immunize health and care workers, and hospitals are being inundated with people that need lifesaving care urgently.” He added.
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Tedros said that at present, only 0.3% of vaccine supply is going to low-income countries.
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The pandemic has killed at least 3,346,813 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in late 2019.
