2022 should be the year when “the pandemic will end,” the leader of the World Health Organization (WHO) stressed today, urging the parties to be careful.
“We are all tired of this pandemic. We all want to be with our families, but in order to better protect them and protect ourselves, in some cases this means canceling the event, ”said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Speaking at a press conference at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, the WHO spokesman urged families and people planning to be together at the end of the year to think twice: “A canceled event is better than living less.”
On the other hand, next year “WHO is committed to doing everything in its power to end the pandemic,” he said.
As the fifth wave of the covid-19 pandemic hits many countries, and the emergence of the Omicron variant puts the planet in a state of emergency again, the WHO leader, now one of the most famous faces in the fight against coronavirus, said. : “2022 should be the year of the end of the pandemic.”
He again called for improved access to vaccines in disadvantaged countries.
“If we want to end the pandemic next year, we must end inequalities by getting 70% of the population in every country vaccinated by mid-year,” he said.
Tedros reiterated that WHO has no objection to booster doses, but stressed that they should be reserved for people at risk or over 65.
The WHO director believes that countries that are administering booster doses to adults and children in excellent health would be better off sharing these vaccines or persuading unvaccinated people to stick to them.
“We are faced with a very harsh reality, but we must show solidarity,” he insisted.
Covid-19 has caused more than 5.35 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest report from Agence France-Presse.
