GENEVA: Covid-19 continues to claim around 1,700 lives each week worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, urging high-risk populations to keep up with their vaccinations against the deadly disease. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern over declining vaccine coverage across the world. Despite the ongoing death toll, data indicates reduced vaccine coverage among healthcare workers and those over 60, he said at a press conference.
“WHO recommends that individuals in the highest-risk groups receive a Covid-19 vaccine within twelve months of their last dose,” Tedros stated.
Reported Covid-19 deaths exceed seven million, though the actual toll is believed to be much higher. The pandemic also devastated economies and overwhelmed health systems.
In May 2023, Tedros declared the end of Covid-19 as an international public health emergency, more than three years after the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. The WHO continues to urge governments to maintain virus surveillance and sequencing and ensure access to affordable, reliable tests, treatments, and vaccines.
