The global coronavirus pandemic isn’t over yet despite high vaccination rates in some countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “There is a huge disconnect growing where in some countries with the highest vaccination rates, there appears to be a mindset that the pandemic is over, while others are experiencing huge waves of infections”
He then warned that “The pandemic is a long way far from over….It will not be over anywhere until it’s over everywhere.”
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His comments come just days after the CDC updated its public guidelines saying that fully vaccinated Americans could go now out without face masks in most places.
CNBC reports: In the United States, new Covid cases are on the decline as more Americans get vaccinated. As of Sunday, the nation is reporting about 33,200 daily new infections, based on a seven-day average of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, down 19% from a week earlier. Roughly 123 million Americans are fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by the CDC.
Other countries are experiencing major outbreaks. India, for example, is reporting a seven-day average of about 328,900 cases a day as of Sunday, according to Hopkins’ data. That’s down 15% from a week ago but still an enormous number of cases. The country also reached a new record for fatalities, reporting a seven-day average of 4,039 deaths, according to Hopkins data.
Tedros said the agency has been responding to the surge in India and other hot spots around the world. He said the WHO needs immediate funding in order to sustain its technical and operational support to all countries, especially those most impacted by the pandemic.
“The current response plan is underfunded and the vast majority of that is ring-fenced by donors for specific countries or activities,” he said.
