Pandemic won’t be over until 70pc are vaccinated: WHO

Published May 29, 2021
This file photo taken on February 26, 2020 in Rome shows WHO Europe director Hans Kluge giving a press conference on the outbreak of Covid-19 in Italy. — AFP/File
This file photo taken on February 26, 2020 in Rome shows WHO Europe director Hans Kluge giving a press conference on the outbreak of Covid-19 in Italy. — AFP/File

COPENHAGEN: The WHO’s European director warned on Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic won’t be over until at least 70 per cent of people are vaccinated, while deploring that the vaccine rollout in Europe is still “too slow”.

“The pandemic will be over once we reach 70pc minimum coverage in vaccination,” the World Health Organisation’s reg­ional director for Europe Hans Kluge said in an interview.

Kluge also said that one of his main worries was the increased contagiousness of new variants of the novel coronavirus.

“We know for example that the B.1617 (Indian variant) is more transmissible than the B.117 (British variant), which already was more transmissible than the previous strain,” Kluge said.

According to the Belgian doctor, speed is “of essence” in a pandemic.

“Even when WHO declared a pandemic, many countries were still waiting, we lost valuable time.”

While the regional director, who has held the position since February 2020, lauded calls for solidarity he stressed that a speedy rollout of vaccines was of the utmost importance.

“Our best friend is speed, the time is working against us, the vaccination roll-out still goes too slow,” Kluge said. “We need to accelerate, we need to enlarge the number of vaccines.”

In the 53 countries and territories that make up the WHO’s European region — including several in Central Asia — 26pc of the population has received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

In the European Union, 36.6pc of the population has received at least one dose, according to a count.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.