With new coronavirus variants emerging every four months on average, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cautioned that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over as large outbreaks are spreading in Asia. Guterres also called for governments and pharma companies to work together to deliver vaccines to every person, everywhere. In a video message “One World Protected – Break Covid Now” to the GAVI COVAX Advance Market Commitment Summit 2022, Guterres said Friday that the gathering is a critical reminder that the “Covid-19 pandemic is far from over.”

“We’re seeing 1.5 million new cases each day. Large outbreaks are spreading in Asia. A new wave is sweeping across Europe,” he said, adding that some countries are reporting their highest death rates since the start of the pandemic.

He said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is a “startling reminder” of how quickly Covid-19 can mutate and spread — especially in the absence of high vaccination coverage. While some high-income countries are preparing for their second booster doses, one-third of humanity remains unvaccinated, he rued.

“This is a brutal indictment of our deeply unequal world. It’s also a prime breeding ground for new variants… more deaths… and increased human and economic misery,” he said.

Guterres said the next variant is not a question of “if” but of “when.” “We are far from our target of every country reaching 70 per cent vaccination coverage by the middle of this year. And with new variants emerging every four months on average, time is of the essence,” he said.

He added that governments and pharmaceutical companies need to work together to deliver vaccines to every person, everywhere — not just in wealthy countries.

A new strain of the Covid-19 Omicron variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, appears to be more transmissible than previous strains of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) had said.

WHO said last week that the XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 19 and more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since.

“Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 per cent as compared to BA.2. However, this finding requires further confirmation,” WHO had said.

It added that XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported.

          Source: PTI