WHO Chief: The pandemic will end when the World chooses. Voice of America

The pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it, said the Director General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday in Geneva in connection with the global COVID-19 outbreak that is now being fueled by the delta variant of the coronavirus. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and that infections in vaccinated people can be as contagious as those not vaccinated.

The WHO goal remains to support each country to vaccinate at least 10% of its population by the end of September, at least 40% by the end of this year and 70% by the middle of next year, the chief said. of the WHO, but added that the realization of goals is far away.

So far, just over half of the countries have fully vaccinated 10% of their population, less than a quarter of the countries have vaccinated 40%, and only three countries have vaccinated 70%, Tedros said.

He recalled that the WHO had previously warned of the danger of the world’s poor being trampled on by vaccine turmoil and that the world was on the verge of a catastrophic moral failure due to vaccine inequality.

And yet the global distribution of vaccines remains unfair, Tedros said. All regions are at risk, but none more so than Africa.

Many African countries are well prepared to release vaccines, but vaccines have not arrived, he said. Less than 2% of all globally administered doses have been in Africa, with only 1.5% of the continent population fully vaccinated.

The WHO chief said his organization was issuing an urgent call for $ 7.7 billion to launch the ACT-Accelerator Delta, or RADAR, a response to the delta wave that would provide tests, treatments and vaccines.

He also said COVAX; that provides vaccines for lower income countries needs additional funding.

The question is not whether the world can afford to make these investments, Tedros said, “is whether it can afford not to.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday that federal government civilian employees should be vaccinated or subjected to regular testing and wear masks.

On Friday, a reporter asked Biden as he was leaving the White House if Americans should expect more guidance and restrictions regarding the coronavirus. Most likely, he said.

Biden also noted that on Thursday nearly one million Americans received vaccines against COVID-19 and said, I am hopeful that people are beginning to realize how essential it is to move in response to the coronavirus threat.

The White House said the average number of people who received their first coronavirus vaccines this week was 30% higher than last week.

Also Friday, Walmart joined a growing number of U.S. companies that issued mandates for its employees to be vaccinated, saying the policy would apply to all employees at its headquarters along with managers traveling within the United States.

The Broadway connection said Friday that auditors will be asked to show evidence of vaccination to watch Broadway shows and will be required to wear masks.

Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane, said it would start a COVID blockade on Saturday amid the growing number of cases. Neighboring areas will also be subject to house arrest orders.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that 80% of adults should be vaccinated before the country considers reopening its border.

In Israel, health officials began administering coronavirus-boosting shots to people over the age of 60 who had been fully vaccinated in an effort to stop a recent increase in cases.

The Italys Health Institute announced on Friday that the delta variant accounted for almost all new COVID-19 cases in the country in almost 95% of cases as of July 20th.

German officials announced on Friday that unvaccinated travelers arriving in the country will have to submit a negative COVID-19 test result.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center on Saturday reported that there have been more than 197 million global COVID-19 infections.