![]() ![]() ![]() But it must also be the beginning of something else – a new era of solidarity,” Guidance for health workers 2022 must be the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As we approach a new year, we must all learn the painful lessons this year taught us. ![]() Tedros said although vaccines “undoubtedly saved many lives”, inequitable sharing of doses resulted in many deaths. Reflecting on the past year, Tedros reported that more people died from COVID-19 in 2021 than from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined, in 2020.Ĭoronavirus killed 3.5 million people this year, and continues to claim some 50,000 lives each week. While WHO projections show sufficient supply to vaccinate the entire global adult population by the first quarter of 2022, and to give boosters to high-risk populations, only later in the year will supply be sufficient for extensive use of boosters in all adults. He again urged countries and manufacturers to prioritize COVAX and AVAT, and to work together to support nations furthest behind. Half of those doses have been shipped in the past three months.” “Today, COVAX shipped its 800 millionth vaccine dose. “We’re encouraged that supply is improving,” said Tedros. Therefore, every country could have reached the target by September, if doses had been distributed equitably through global solidarity mechanism COVAX and its African Union counterpart, AVAT. Tedros reported that while some countries are now rolling out blanket programmes - for a third, or even fourth shot, in the case of Israel - only half of WHO’s 194 Member States have been able to inoculate 40 per cent of their populations due to “distortions in global supply”.Įnough vaccines were administered globally in 2021, he said. “And we must be very clear that the vaccines we have, remain effective against both the Delta and Omicron variants.”Ī COVID-19 patient is being treated during the pandemic at a hospital in Matanzas, Cuba. “It’s important to remember that the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths are in unvaccinated people, not un-boosted people,” he said. He stressed that the priority must be on supporting countries to vaccinate 40 per cent of their populations as quickly as possible, and 70 per cent by the middle of 2022. “Blanket booster programmes are likely to prolong the pandemic, rather than ending it, by diverting supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate,” said Tedros. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) has issued interim guidance on booster doses, expressing concern that mass programmes for countries that can afford them, will exacerbate vaccine inequity.Ĭurrently, around 20 per cent of all vaccine doses administered are being given as boosters or additional doses. “And boosters cannot be seen as a ticket to go ahead with planned celebrations, without the need for other precautions,” he added. Some of the main pieces of vaccine misinformation the Biden administration is fighting include that the COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective, false claims that they carry microchips and that they hurt women's fertility, a White House official had said last month.“No country can boost its way out of the pandemic,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva during his final press briefing for the year. ![]() "We have also imposed penalties on nearly two dozen additional Pages, groups or accounts linked to these 12 people," Facebook said in a blogpost titled "How We're Taking Action Against Vaccine Misinformation Superspreaders". Aug 18 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) said it removed over three dozen pages spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, after the White House called on social media firms to tighten controls on pandemic-related facts shared on their platforms.Ĭompanies like YouTube, Twitter and Google have come under fire from the Biden administration for the alarming spread of vaccine misinformation that is hitting the pace of inoculation in a country where many are hostile to being vaccinated.Ī recent report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) showed 12 anti-vaccine accounts are spreading nearly two-thirds of anti-vaccine misinformation online.įacebook disputed the methodology behind the report, but said on Wednesday it removed over three dozen pages, groups and Facebook or Instagram accounts linked to these 12 people for violating its policies. ![]()
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