Pay attention to it more than 3.3 million people have lost their lives to COVID-19 this year – more deaths than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined in 2020 – the WHO has said “2022 is the year we end the pandemic”.

“2022 must also be a year in which all countries invest on this scale to prevent a future disaster and accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference on Monday (local time), emphasizing that “2022 is the year we end the pandemic.”

“This means investing in sustainable health care systems that are based on primary health care and that aim at universal health care,” he added.

Tedros said more than 3.3 million people have lost their lives to COVID-19 this year – more deaths than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined in 2020, and yet COVID-19 still claims about 50,000 lives each week.

“Not to mention the unreported deaths and the millions of extra deaths caused by disruptions to key health services,” he added.

Tedros stressed that Africa is now facing a sharp wave of infection, largely due to the Omicron variant, and Tedros said the number of cases in Africa was the lowest in 18 months just a month ago. Last week, it reported the fourth most cases in a single week.

“There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant. And people who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 are more likely to become infected or re-infected,” he added.

Referring to the holiday season, Tedros said there can be no doubt that increased social interference during the holiday season in many countries will lead to an increase in cases, an overload of health care systems and an increase in deaths.

“We are all tired of this pandemic. We all want to spend time with friends and family. We all want to get back to a normal life. The fastest way to do that is for all of us – leaders and individuals – to make difficult decisions to protect ourselves and others,” he added. .

Tedros stressed that in some cases, events can be canceled or delayed, “But a canceled event is better than a canceled life.”

He stressed that it is better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and mourn later, he said: “None of us want to be here again in 12 months to talk about lost opportunities, persistent inequality or new options.”

Tedros also called on countries to vaccinate 70 percent of the population in each country.

“If we are going to end the pandemic next year, we need to end the inequality by ensuring that 70 percent of the population in each country is vaccinated by the middle of next year,” he added.

“Last week, the WHO released a list of emergency uses for the ninth vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India under license from Novavax. This new vaccine is part of the COVAX portfolio and we hope it will play an important role in achieving our global goal.” The WHO director added.

He stressed that even before the pandemic, a billion people spent more than 10 percent of their household budgets on health care, saying that when people do not get or cannot afford the services they need, individuals, families, communities and entire societies are at risk.

“In the coming year, the WHO is committed to doing everything it can to end the pandemic and usher in a new era in global health – an era in which health is at the heart of every country’s development plans,” he added.

Source: ANI