“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists during his regular weekly press conference.
However, the director-general of the UN health agency explained that the world “isn’t there yet”.
The line ends in sight
“A marathon runner doesn’t stop when the finish line comes into view. She runs harder, with all her energy left. So we have to. We can see the ending line. We are in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running”, he emphasized.
He also warned that if the world does not take advantage of the opportunity now, there is still the risk of more variation, death, disruption and uncertainty.
“So take this chance,” he urged, announcing that WHO is releasing six brief policy briefs outlining key actions all governments must take now to “complete the race”.
© ADB / Richard Atrero de Guzman
People wear protective masks in Tokyo, Japan.
Urgent call
The policy brief is a summary, based on evidence and experience from the past 32 months, that outlines what works best to save lives, protect health systems, and avoid economic and social disruption.
“[They] Is one Urgent calls for governments to take a hard look at their policies and strengthen them to COVID-19 and future pathogens with pandemic potential,” explains Tedros.
Document, available onlineincludes recommendations regarding vaccination for most at-risk groups, continued testing and sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and integration of effective treatment for COVID-19 into the system. primary health care system.
They also called on authorities to plan for future increases, including securing additional supplies, equipment and medical staff.
The summary also includes communication tips, including training healthcare workers to identify and address misinformation, as well as creating high-quality information materials.
Novavax / Patrick Seibert
A scientist in the laboratory studies the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.
Committed to the future
Tedros emphasized that WHO has been working since New Year’s Eve 2019 to combat the spread of COVID and will continue to do so until the pandemic is “really over”.
“We can end this pandemic together, but only if all countries, manufacturers, communities and individuals stand up to seize this opportunity,” he said.
Situations that can happen
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical team leader on COVID-19, stressed that the virus is still “vigorously circulating” around the world and the agency believes the number of reported cases is a low number. .
“We expect there will be future waves of infections, potentially at different times around the world caused by different sub-variants of Omicron or even different variants. worrisome,” she said, reiterating her earlier warning that the more circulating the virus, the more opportunity there is to change.
But these future waves don’t need to translate into a “wave or death,” she said, as effective tools such as vaccines and antivirals are now available specifically for COVID-19 .
