New York, Europe Brief News – The World Health Organization (WHO) chief has warned that Covid cases are continuing to rise worldwide.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced concerns over that the new waves are “running freely” around the world, putting further pressure on stretched health systems and workers.
“As the virus pushes at us, we must push back. We’re in a much better position than at the beginning of the pandemic,” he told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Of course, there’s been a lot of progress. We have safe and effective tools that prevent infections, hospitalisations and deaths. However, we should not take them for granted.”
Tedros urged governments to “deploy tried and tested measures like masking, improved ventilation and test and treat protocols”.
Separately on Tuesday, the WHO’s European office recommended a second booster shot of a COVID vaccine for older people and vulnerable groups, amid rising infections.
The call followed the EU’s health and medicine agencies recommendation on Monday of a second booster shot for people over 60 years old.
“The updated interim recommendations on vaccination strategy come as cases continue to rise across the European Region,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said in a statement.
