11bil doses needed to end pandemic: WHO boss

THE number of new cases of Covid-19 reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declined for seven weeks in a row, which is the longest sequence of weekly declines during the pandemic so far, WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says.
“While weekly cases are at their lowest since February, deaths are not falling as quickly,” he said.
“The number of deaths reported last week was similar to the previous week.
“And the global decline masks a worrying increase in cases and deaths in many countries.
“The steep increase in Africa is especially concerning, because it is the region with the least access to vaccines, diagnostics and oxygen.
“A recent study in the Lancet showed Africa has the highest global mortality rate among critically ill Covid-19 patients, despite having fewer reported cases than most other regions.
“Available evidence suggests new variants have substantially increased transmission globally.
“This means the risks have increased for people who are not protected, which is most of the world’s population.
“Right now, the virus is moving faster than the global distribution of vaccines.”
Dr Ghebreyesus was speaking at the G7 summit last Saturday.
“To end the pandemic, our shared goal must be to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the world’s population by the time the G7 meets again in Germany next year and to do that, we need 11 billion doses,” he said.