However, WHO is concerned that there is a growing perception that the Covid-19 pandemic is over," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a Geneva news conference. "The truth is that at present, many places are witnessing very high transmission of the Covid-19 virus, which is putting enormous pressure on hospitals, intensive care units and health workers." However, the WHO's top emergency expert Mike Ryan also cautioned on Friday against complacency in the wake of vaccine roll-out, saying that although they were a major part of the battle against Covid-19, vaccines would not on their own end the pandemic. There are health systems in some countries at the point of collapse," he said, without referring to specific countries. This would be enough to "bring to an end the acute phase of the pandemic" by reducing mortality and the impact on health systems, she said.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 05, 2020 01:52 UTC