By Venkatesh Raghavan
World witnessing nearly 50000 Covid-19 related deaths every week since October 2021
The Omicron variant of Covid-19, though a milder version of the original virus or its delta variant has by sheer numbers, aided by presence of huge numbers of unvaccinated people, created a tremendous stress on health care facilities and workers across the globe. The WHO report that tabled these findings also recorded 48,000 Covid-related deaths across the globe in the previous one week.
Terming these statistics as stable on the basis of average deaths per week since October last, the WHO team also cautioned that the number of new COVID cases reported across the globe registered a sharp rise after touching the 15 million mark in the previous week alone. Again, the global health body chose to balance its observation by stating, “In comparison to previous waves of the pandemic, the current wave in most countries is witnessing lower levels.”
Doubtless there is an increase in the number of patients being hospitalized in most countries, the apex global health monitoring body stated. WHO spokesperson further stated that Omicron being a less severe form of the original Covid Virus, cannot be treated lightly as it is still a lethal agent of death for those who are unvaccinated. It also attributed the reduction in hospitalization levels to the relatively less severe nature of the Omicron variant.
The Omicron variant is a threat owing to a huge section of the global population still remaining unvaccinated, the WHO stressed. For instance, in the African continent, nearly 85% of the population is still unvaccinated. Further, though the death figures look stable, a near 50,000 deaths per week is not a very comfortable global health proposition, the World body emphasized. There is absolutely no space for complacency in combating casualties resulting from the Omicron or the milder variant, it added.
The WHO’s original target for the global community was ensuring that 70% of the populations in all countries get vaccinated completely by June, this year. However, with 90 countries registering less than 40% vaccination in their drives, the target seems a far cry from being achieved. Besides, in 36 of these countries, the vaccine score is below 10%. The immediate gap that the WHO feels needs to be addressed is in sharply reducing the number of unvaccinated people.
The World body is currently active in helping the countries with huge unvaccinated populations to sort out their bottlenecks, by enhancing and setting up of a visible supply chain and helping them overcome the crisis resulting from the short shelf-life of donated vaccines. Shortage of manpower issues that plague most of these nations will also have to be addressed.
Meanwhile, the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Covid-19 vaccine composition that was set up in September last year, emphasized on an urgent requirement for broader access to existing vaccines as well as enhancements on the current variety of vaccines that will prove to have greater impact on preventing the spread of the Covid-19 virus and its variants. TAG also sounded that there needs to be constant updates on the existing vaccines till adequately potent versions are fully developed. It also voiced concern that the current cry for usage of booster doses as a support strategy to the currently available potency levels of vaccines is unsustainable from the long term point of view.
The TAG concluded in its observations that the top priority for the world populations would be to accelerate public access to primary vaccination, with an eye on vulnerable age groups and sections of society. The WHO also conceded that vaccines, though effective in countering the pandemic infection, cannot be entirely relied on for preventing transmission of the disease.
The inability of the current vaccines to prevent transmission is seen as a major threat as this leads to increased number of hospitalizations and more deaths. In addition, it results in lesser staff across professions, including those meant for teaching and health care. This also engenders the risk of another variant of omicron that is even more transmissible, biting into the already sagging social and medical infrastructure. As of now there is acute pressure on the already overburdened and exhausted health workers, across the globe. Still worse, the statistics furnished in the previous year indicated that one in every four health workers are faced with mental stress related health issues, when coping with the pandemic.
Things have taken a turn for the worse, as many health workers, who felt the conditions daunting opted to quit the profession. Poor working conditions in addition to insufficient staffing were attributed as reasons for this state of affairs.
In a summing up observation, WHO spokesperson averred, “Health workers have done their best to protect us for the past two years. We must all do our part to protect them, by getting them vaccinated, and by taking precautions to prevent becoming infected, or infecting someone else.”
