GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) says in some countries, high vaccination coverage and the lower severity of the Omicron variant are driving a false narrative that the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

       Its director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that at the same time, low vaccination coverage and low testing rates in other countries were creating the ideal conditions for new variants to emerge.

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

       The WHO chief was speaking at a video conference in which he addressed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a meeting in Washington, during which he expressed his gratitude for the health leadership of the United States.

       The Covid-19 Global Action Meeting was called by the United States 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,” Anadolu Agency quoted Tedros as saying at the meeting.

       He cited international tools such as the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and the Covax pillar “and our partnership with Unicef” with which the world was overcoming some of the supply and delivery constraints faced last year, with more than one 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 the vaccines urgently.

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

       According to the WHO, the ACT Accelerator is a groundbreaking global collaboration to accelerate development, production and equitable access to Covid-19 tests, treatment and vaccines.

       Avat is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius that acts as a centralised 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 also 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 US$16bil (RM67bil),” he said.

       The WHO, said Tedros, also needed to support models such as the mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa and its network worldwide to build capacity for controlling Covid-19 and other preventable diseases. — Bernama