'False narrative’ being driven that pandemic is over: WHO chief

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that in some countries, high vaccine coverage combined with the lower severity of the omicron coronavirus variant are driving a false narrative that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held a video conference in which he addressed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a meeting in Washington at which he expressed his gratitude for the health leadership of the US.

The COVID-19 Global Action Meeting was called by the US on the coronavirus pandemic just two years after it was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO, the highest level of medical alert.

“This historic initiative comes at a critical time,” said Tedros at the meeting.

“In some countries, high vaccine coverage combined with the lower severity of omicron is driving a false narrative that the pandemic is over.”

The WHO chief said that at the same time, low vaccine coverage and low testing rates in other countries are creating the ideal conditions for new variants to emerge.

‘Under control this year’

“We can bring the pandemic under control this year – but we are at increased risk of squandering that opportunity,” said Tedros.

He explained that currently, 116 countries are not reaching the shared target of vaccinating 70% of the population of every nation by the middle of this year.

Tedros cited international tools such as the ACT Accelerator and the COVAX pillar “and our partnership with UNICEF,” with which the world is overcoming some of the supply and delivery constraints faced last year, with more than 1 billion vaccine doses shipped.

“In many countries, the issues are not primarily a problem of absorptive capacity. We need to support political leaders to accelerate the rollout of vaccines urgently,” he said.

“We welcome the ongoing engagement of all countries represented here today, the lines of effort proposed by the United States, and continued alignment with the ACT Accelerator and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).”

According to the WHO, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a groundbreaking global collaboration to accelerate development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.

The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius which acts as a centralized purchasing agent on behalf of the African Union member states to secure the necessary vaccines and blended financing resources for achieving Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy, which targets vaccinating a minimum of 70% of Africa’s population based on a whole-of-Africa approach.

Tedros called on all countries to vaccinate and support the WHO’s global target of 70%.

“Second, to save lives now, we ask all countries to contribute their fair share to fully fund the ACT Accelerator, especially for the immediate need of $16 billion,” he said.

The WHO said Tedros also needs to support models such as the mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa and its network of spokes worldwide to build capacity for controlling COVID-19 and other preventable diseases.​​​​​​​