Graphic- gavi.org
By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 26 June: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the ‘Delta’ variant of the COVID virus “is the most transmissible of the variants identified so far, has been identified in at least 85 countries and is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated populations. As some countries ease public health and social measures, we are starting to see increases in transmission around the world.”
The Delta variant was first detected in India in late 2020, where it is thought to have contributed to the extremely high number of cases during the country’s second wave of COVID-19, says gavi.org (Gavi, the vaccine alliance).
In his opening remarks at the media briefing in Geneva on COVID-19 on 25 June 2021 WHO DG, Dr. Tedros said, ” More cases means more hospitalizations, further stretching health workers and health systems, which increases the risk of death.
As we have said, new variants are expected and will continue to be reported – that’s what viruses do, they evolve – but we can prevent the emergence of variants by preventing transmission. It’s quite simple: more transmission, more variants. Less transmission, less variants.
That makes it even more urgent that we use all the tools at our disposal to prevent transmission: the tailored and consistent use of public health and social measures, in combination with equitable vaccination. This is why WHO has been saying for at least a year that vaccines must be distributed equitably, to protect health workers and the most vulnerable.”
In his remarks, the WHO DG also said, “Over the past 18 months, WHO staff all over the world have done an amazing job supporting countries to respond to COVID-19.
But WHO cannot be everywhere, and we can’t do everything.
One of the most important ways WHO coordinates the response to COVID-19 and other emergencies is through our global network of emergency medical teams. Emergency Medical Teams, or EMTs, are groups of health professionals, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, support workers and logisticians, who provide care for patients affected by an emergency.”
