WHO: 90% of population resist Covid
THE World Health Organization (WHO) estimated Friday that 90 percent of the world population now had some resistance to the coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid-19, but warned that a troubling new variant could still emerge.
Gaps in vigilance were leaving the door open for a new virus variant to appear and overtake the globally dominant Omicron, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“WHO estimates that at least 90 percent of the world’s population now has some level of immunity to SARS-CoV-2, due to prior infection or vaccination,” said Tedros, referring to the virus that causes Covid-19.
“We are much closer to being able to say that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over — but we’re not there yet,” he told reporters.
“Gaps in surveillance, testing, sequencing and vaccination are continuing to create the perfect conditions for a new variant of concern to emerge that could cause significant mortality.”
Last weekend marked one year since the organization announced Omicron as a new variant of concern in the Covid-19 pandemic, Tedros noted.
It has since swept around the world, proving significantly more transmissible than its predecessor, Delta.
Tedros said there were now more than 500 highly transmissible Omicron sublineages circulating — all able to get around built-up immunity more easily, even if they tended to be less severe than previous variants.
Countries have reported 6.6 million deaths to the WHO, from nearly 640 million registered cases. But the UN health agency says this will be a massive undercount, and unreflective of the true toll.
Tedros said more than 8,500 people were
recorded as having lost their lives to Covid last week, “which is not acceptable three years into the pandemic, when we have so many tools to prevent infections and save lives.”
DoH to hold mass Covid vaccine drive
In the Philippines, the Department of Health (DoH) is slated to hold a massive Covid-19 vaccination drive nationwide, called “Bakunahang Bayan,” starting on Monday to improve the country’s booster vaccine numbers amid increased detections of the highly transmissible subvariants.
In Metro Manila, ceremonial vaccination activities will be held in Tondo, Manila; Potrero, Malabon; and Almanza, Las Piñas City.
According to DoH Officer in Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, the “Bakunahang Bayan” will focus on vaccinating the 5-11-year-old age group, as well as those who are willing to get their first booster dose.
So far, nearly 21 million have only received their booster shot, out of the 73 million who have received the first two doses.
She also said that they were in close coordination with other stakeholders such as the Oplan T3 or Test, Trace and Treat group of the private sector, as well as the Chinese Filipino community to make vaccination sites accessible, and medical groups to make vaccinations available in clinics.
Vergeire also said that the vaccination campaign will go house to house to reach high-risk groups who have yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
She stressed the importance of getting vaccinated so that the country can move into the new normal while acquiring additional protection amid the expected increased mobility during the holiday season.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said that the DoH is willing to share with the Commission on Audit documents, including those covered under nondisclosure agreements (NDA), related to the country’s vaccine purchase in its proposed special audit.
“There are exemptions in the NDA like we can share this information if it is required by law or auditing, so our legal experts are now studying it so we won’t be in violation of the NDA,” Vergeire said.