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COVID-19: Omicron Is Not ‘Mild’, Kills People Like Other Variants – WHO
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is killing people across the globe and should not be dismissed as mild, the World Health Organization insisted Thursday.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the record numbers of people catching the new variant — which is rapid out-competing the previously-dominant Delta variant in many countries — meant hospitals were being overwhelmed.
“While Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorised as mild,” Tedros told a press conference.
“Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and it is killing people,” he explained.
“In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick, that it is overwhelming health systems around the world.”
Just under 9.5 million new Covid-19 cases were reported to the WHO last week — a record, up 71 percent on the week before.
But even this was an underestimate, Tedros said, as it did not reflect the backlog of testing around the Christmas-New Year holidays, positive self-tests not registered, and overburdened surveillance systems missing cases.
Tedros used his first speech of 2022 to slam the way rich nations hogged available vaccine doses last year, saying it had created the perfect breeding ground for the emergence of virus variants.
He, therefore, urged the world to share out vaccine doses more fairly in 2022, to end the “death and destruction” of Covid-19.
Tedros wanted every country to have 10 percent of their population vaccinated by the end of September 2021 and 40 percent by the end of December.
Ninety-two of the WHO’s 194 member states missed the target set for the end of 2021 — indeed 36 of them had not even jabbed the first 10 percent, largely due to being unable to access doses.
Tedros wants 70 percent jabbed in every country by mid-2022.
On the current pace of vaccine roll-out, 109 countries will miss that target.
“Vaccine inequity is a killer of people and jobs and it undermines a global economic recovery,” said Tedros.
“Booster after booster in a small number of countries will not end a pandemic while billions remain completely unprotected.”
Omicron is not the end
The WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said it was “very unlikely” that Omicron would be the last variant of concern before the pandemic is over.
In facing the more transmissible Omicron variant, Van Kerkhove urged people to step up the measures they were already taking to protect themselves against the virus.
“Do everything that we have been advising better, more comprehensively, more purposefully,” she said.
“We need people to hang in there and really fight.”
Van Kerkhove added that she was stunned by how sloppily some people were wearing facemasks.
“It needs to cover your nose and mouth… wearing a mask below your chin is useless,” she said.
Looking ahead to this year, Bruce Aylward, the WHO’s frontman on accessing coronavirus tools, added that there was “no need to finish 2022 in a pandemic”.
But WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said that without vaccine equity, “we will be sitting here at the end of 2022 having somewhat the same conversation, which, in itself, would be a great tragedy”.
January 7, 2022
Omicron spreading faster than Delta variant – WHO warns
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that there is now “consistent evidence” that the Omicron variant was spreading faster than the Delta variant, as COVID-19 continues to account for around 50,000 deaths worldwide every week.
WHO Director General, Tedros issued the warning at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
He stated that it was also more likely that people who had been vaccinated or recovered from the virus, could be infected, or re-infected.
“There can be no doubt that increased social mixing over the holiday period in many countries will lead to increased cases, overwhelm health systems and more deaths.
“All of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal.
“The fastest way to do that is for all of us as leaders and individuals – to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others,” he advised.
He emphasized that delaying or cancelling events, was the responsible thing to do now than to lose a life to the virus.
December 21, 2021
COVID-19: Omicron now in 89 Countries – WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has now been detected in 89 countries.
Omicron — labelled a “variant of concern” — was detected by South African authorities and subsequently reported to the WHO.
Following the discovery of the new variant, there have been concerns about its possible higher transmissibility due to the increase in COVID cases experienced in South Africa.
In a statement on Saturday, the WHO said there is consistent evidence that Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta.
It added that “given current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace Delta where community transmission occurs”.
“As of 16 December 2021, the Omicron variant has been identified in 89 countries across all six WHO regions. Current understanding of the Omicron variant will continue to evolve as more data becomes available,” the statement reads.
“It is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant in countries with documented community transmission, with a doubling time between 1.5–3 days. Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity and it remains uncertain to what extent the observed rapid growth rate can be attributed to immune evasion, intrinsic increased transmissibility or a combination of both.
“There are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron. More data are needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and pre-existing immunity. Hospitalizations in the UK and South Africa continue to rise, and given rapidly increasing case counts, it is possible that many healthcare systems may become quickly overwhelmed.
“Preliminary data suggest that there is a reduction in neutralizing titres against Omicron in those who have received a primary vaccination series or in those who have had prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, which may suggest a level of humoral immune evasion.
“There are still limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron.”
December 18, 2021
WHO Lists Ninth COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for NVX-CoV2373, expanding the basket of WHO-validated vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The vaccine, named CovovaxTM, is produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax and is part of the COVAX facility portfolio, giving a much-needed boost to ongoing efforts to vaccinate more people in lower-income countries.
WHO’s EUL procedure assesses the quality, safety, and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and is a prerequisite for COVAX vaccine supply. It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.
READ ALSO: Again, Nigeria’s Daily COVID-19 Infections Exceed 1,000
“Even with new variants emerging, vaccines remain one of the most effective tools to protect people against serious illness and death from SARS-COV-2,” said Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Medicines and Health Products. ‘This listing aims to increase access particularly in lower-income countries, 41 of which have still not been able to vaccinate 10% of their populations, while 98 countries have not reached 40%.”
CovovaxTM was assessed under the WHO EUL procedure based on the review of data on quality, safety, and efficacy, a risk management plan, programmatic suitability, and manufacturing site inspections carried out by the Drugs Controller General of India.
The Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing (TAG-EUL), convened by WHO and made up of experts from around the world, has determined that the vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19, that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs any risks, and that the vaccine can be used globally.
CovovaxTM is a subunit of the vaccine developed by Novavax and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). It requires two doses and is stable at 2 to 8 °C refrigerated temperatures. The vaccine uses a novel platform and is produced by creating an engineered baculovirus containing a gene for a modified SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
The originator product produced by Novavax, named NuvaxovidTM, is currently under assessment by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). WHO will complete its own assessment of this vaccine once the EMA has issued its recommendation.
A meeting of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) this week also reviewed the vaccine. SAGE formulates specific policies and recommendations for vaccines’ use in populations (i.e. recommended age groups, intervals between doses, specific groups such as pregnant and lactating women) and will issue recommendations for NuvaxovidTM/CovovaxTM in the coming days.
The emergency use listing (EUL) procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies. The objective is to make medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy, and quality.
According to the WHO, the assessment weighs the threat posed by the emergency as well as the benefit that would accrue from the use of the product against any potential risks.
The EUL pathway involves a rigorous assessment of late phase II and phase III clinical trial data, as well as substantial additional data on safety, efficacy, quality, and a risk management plan.
These data are reviewed by independent experts and WHO teams who consider the current body of evidence on the vaccine under consideration, the plans for monitoring its use, and plans for further studies.
As part of the EUL process, the company producing the vaccine must commit to continue to generate data to enable full licensure and WHO prequalification of the vaccine.
The WHO prequalification process will assess additional clinical data generated from vaccine trials and deployment on a rolling basis to ensure the vaccine meets the necessary standards of quality, safety, and efficacy for broader availability.
December 17, 2021
Investing $1 per person per year, “Best Buy” could save 7m people living in poor countries by 2030- WHO Report
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
A new report released by World Health Organization, WHO, has shown that close to seven million deaths could be prevented by 2030, if poor countries could make additional investment of less than a dollar per person per year in the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
NCDs , such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and respiratory disease.
The non communicable diseases causes 85% of premature deaths of persons between ages 30- 69, and is responsible for seven out of every ten deaths around the world.
The impact of these diseases on lower income countries is often underestimated making them a huge health and socioeconomic burden on countries.
WHO said that as a precautionary measure majority of those deaths can be prevented using WHO’s tried and tested NCD ‘Best Buy’ interventions.
The ” Best Buy” include cost effective measures to reduce tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol, improve diets, increase physical activity, reduce risks from cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and prevent cervical cancer.
Keeping people healthy reduces health costs, increases productivity and leads to longer and healthier lives.
“Saving lives, spending less: the case for investing in noncommunicable diseases, focuses on 76 low- and lower-middle-income countries.
The report explains the NCD Best Buys and shows how every dollar invested in scaling up Best Buy actions in these countries could generate a return of up to USD 7 – potentially USD 230 billion by 2030.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “With the right strategic investments, countries that bear a significant amount of the NCD burden can change their disease trajectory and deliver significant health and economic gains for their citizens.”
“In a world filled with uncertainty, one thing we can be certain of is that without action, NCDs will continue to be a significant threat to global health. Investing in these evidence-based policies is an investment in a healthy future.”
The report emphasizes the urgency of investing in NCD prevention and management given that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how many of these diseases can worsen outcomes for COVID-19.
According to the WHO Report, investing in the 16 recommended Best Buy policies, countries will not only protect people from NCDs, but also reduce the impact of infectious diseases like COVID-19 in the future.
“WHO Global Ambassador for NCDs and Injuries Michael R. Bloomberg likewise said “Noncommunicable diseases take a terrible health and economic toll, especially on countries that can least afford it.”
” We know the prevention measures that work best, and hopefully this new report leads more governments to take the smart, cost-effective actions that can help save millions of lives around the world.”
Best Buy actions include increasing health taxes, restrictions on marketing and sales of harmful products, information and education, and vaccination.
They also include actions connected to managing metabolic risk factors, such as hypertension and diabetes, in order to prevent more severe disease or complications.
The interventions are all relatively inexpensive and require little capital investment, but could help avoid much of the high cost of treatment in future.
The report also indicates that while each of the interventions can be implemented individually, the effects are stronger and produce a greater return on investment when introduced together.
With marginalized groups often at greater risk from the physical and financial impact of NCDs, the interventions may also help to reduce health aynd economic inequalities..
The health agency noted that the interventions have already been used successfully in many countries around the world, with some of the success stories highlighted in the report.
Meanwhile International donors have also begun to use the arguments to catalyze investment in this area: in 2019 the Norwegian Government launched the first ever international development strategy on NCDs.
“Saving lives, spending less: the case for investing in noncommunicable diseases sets out a path on which countries can follow to deliver the next generation a better and healthier world. .
The impact of COVID-19 on people living with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and lung diseases shows that it’s more important than ever to prioritize the investment of prevention and management of NCDs” , Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director for NCDs at WHO said.
“We call on all our partners to follow examples like Norway, who have stepped up funding and action.
In a world where financial resources are increasingly constrained, this report shows where the best investments can be made and where millions of lives can be saved, WHO opined.
December 15, 2021
WHO calls for significant investments in health system to meet UHC
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
As the world marks the 2021 Global Universal Health Coverage, UHC, Day today, the World Health Organization WHO, has called on the Nigerian Government and regional governments to up scale investment in their health systems in order to meet up with the health needs where no one is left behind.
WHO Representative in Nigeria Dr. Walter Mulombo at a ministerial press conference to mark the 2021 UHC with the theme, ” Leave no one behind, invest in health Systems for All” made the call.
Molumbo said,” The theme of this year’s celebration, indeed reminds us of the need for countries to invest more in health systems towards achieving UHC in order to leave no one behind. This takes into cognizance evidence-based decisions and practical steps in population coverage on essential health services, and financial protection from poverty due to illness and access to healthcare.”
According to him this call is more imperative considering the ongoing global struggle to stem the tides of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
He said, “Here in our country Nigeria, we now face not only the challenges of communicable diseases with high burdens of HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Respiratory Tract Infections but have increasing cases of non-communicable diseases including Hypertension, Diabetes, and Cancers”, including frequent disease outbreaks such as Cholera,
Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, Meningitis, etc, and protracted humanitarian crisis in security compromised parts of the country.
Molumbo recalled that in August 2017, the WHO Region for Africa at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, adopted an Action Framework to ensure achievement of UHC and the SDGs through the Health Systems.
WHO used the occasion to call for deliberate integrated actions across the six (6) building blocks of governance; health workforce; financing; infrastructure, medicines, products, and supplies; and information systems at the national and subnational levels.
In the spirit of the celebration, Molumbo called on the Nigerian Government to increase investment in the health sector so as to relieve households of the heavy burden of out-of-pocket expenditure on health which is still above 70%, adding that the occasion also calls stock taking of the dividends of health and healthcare provided to the people by articulating the annual state of the health report in line with the National Health Act 2014.
This will not only showcase the achievements and progress made so far but will be useful in laying bare key challenges and areas where improvement would be needed, he explained.
WHO promised it’s continued support to provide evidence-based technical support and expertise to the Nigerian Government and it’s people to achieve the highest health outcomes they desire.
December 12, 2021
Inequalities hinder progress towards ending AIDS, Malaria – WHO
The World Health Organisation on Thursday described inequality as a major hindrance to ending HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
This was contained in a joint report by the WHO and Global Fund, which revealed that the extent of underlying health inequalities had remained poorly documented and understood.
The report stated that if inequalities were not identified, it could be hard to meet people’s health needs.
As a result, the report accessed the global state of inequality in relationship with the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
Using the latest available global data for 32 health indicators up to 186 countries, the report revealed that while national averages of HIV, TB and malaria indicators have generally improved in the past decade, the poorest, least educated and rural subgroups tend to remain at a disadvantage across most HIV, TB and malaria indicators.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said, “Although great strides have been made to expand health services and prevention efforts, we must focus more on reaching the poor, rural and least educated populations who bear the brunt of these diseases.”
The report then called for the compilation of more data on inequalities to foster progress towards the end of the diseases.
It also called for “regular and dedicated monitoring of inequalities in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, which should be complemented by other quantitative and qualitative studies.”
December 10, 2021
No Reports Of Deaths From Omicron Variant Yet – WHO
The World Health Organization said Friday it had not seen any reports of deaths relating to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19.
The WHO said it was collecting evidence about the variant of concern (VOC), as countries around the world scramble to stop it from spreading.
But despite a growing number of countries registering infections with the new variant, no deaths have yet been reported to the UN health agency.
“I have not seen reports of Omicron-related deaths yet,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.
“We’re collecting all the evidence and we will find much more evidence as we go along.
“The more countries… keep testing people, and looking specifically into the Omicron variant, we will also find more cases, more information, and, hopefully not, but also possibly deaths.”
While Omicron has rattled the world, Lindmeier also urged people to be mindful of the Delta variant, which accounts for 99.8 percent of sequences uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative with specimens collected in the last 60 days.
“Omicron may be on the rise, and we may come to a point where it takes over to be the dominant variant, but at this point, the very dominant variant remains Delta,” he stressed.
Lindmeier added: “The restrictions that were put into place in many countries just two weeks ago — economical closures again, lockdowns in some areas, closures of Christmas markets in parts of Europe — this was done before Omicron because of a rise of Delta cases. Let’s not lose sight of this.”
The spokesman urged people to use proven measures to protect themselves against Delta — and thereby against Omicron.
The WHO has said it will take several weeks to get a full picture of the transmissibility and disease severity of Omicron and to assess how vaccines, tests, and treatments hold up against the new variant.
As Omicron spreads, pieces of information are emerging from various countries.
“What we need to do is we need to take all these observations, assessments and tests and get this information together and then have the experts look at it, carefully weigh it and come up with the assessment. That will still take some time,” said Lindmeier.
“Preliminary data show that there is higher transmissibility. But that’s basically all we have so far.”
AFP
December 3, 2021
Africa records 2,500 new cases of HIV infection daily- WHO
…Urges countries to invest more on drugs
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
As the world marks the 201 World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization, WHO, has disclosed that at least 2,500 news cases of HIV are recorded daily in the African Region.
WHO African Regional Representative, Dr Matshidiso Meoti disclosed this in a message to mark the day in Africa with the theme, “End inequalities. End AIDS. End pandemic”.
Moeti noted that HIV remains a major public health concern burden in Africa and globally since the first HIV cases were reported 40 years ago.
She said,” Last year, two out of every three new HIV infections occurred in the African Region, corresponding to almost 2 500 new HIV infections every day. Sadly, AIDS claimed the lives of 460 000 people, or a shocking 1 300 every day, in spite of free access to effective treatments.”
The global health agency therefore called on countries to increase HIV fundings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WHO Regional head said, “I urge governments to prioritize investment in health funding for community-led, human rights-based, gender transformative responses. We must boost our essential health workforce, and secure equitable access to life-saving medicines and health technologies.”
“Going forward, we cannot afford to lose focus on the urgent need to end the inequities that drive AIDS and other epidemics around the world.”
She decried the negative impact of treatment and care on HIV across Africa due to the demands of COVID-19 but noted that in spite of the challenges Africa has made significant progress against HIV in the past decade.
In areas reducing new infections by 43% and nearly halving AIDS-related death, stating that in the Region, 86% of people living with HIV know their status, and 76% are receiving antiretroviral therapy, she said.
She lamented that Africa may likely not end AIDS by 2030 due to less reduction in cases.
She said,” We are unlikely to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, after we fell short of the expected 75% reduction in new HIV infections and 81% reduction in AIDS-related deaths by 2020.
Despite the very high percentages of people living with HIV who know their status, and treatment rates, new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are not decreasing concomitantly.”
For instance, in West and Central Africa last year, key populations and their sexual partners accounted for 72% of new adult HIV infections. Yet punitive laws, policies, hostile social and cultural environments, and stigma and discrimination, including in the health sector, prevent them from accessing services.
With COVID-19, people living with HIV appear to be at elevated risk for virus-related illness and death. Nearly 70% live in the WHO African Region, where only 4.5% of people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
WHO stressed that Global solidarity and shared responsibility are critical components of the kind of rights-based approach needed end HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.
December 1, 2021
WHO names new COVID-19 strain ‘Omicron’, says it’s ‘variant of concern’
The World Health Organisation has named the latest COVID-19 variant identified in South Africa, the Greek name ‘Omicron’, and labelled it a variant of concern due to its large number of mutations and possible faster rate of infection.
WHO, in a statement on Friday, said that preliminary evidence also suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant of concern, as compared to other strains, such as Delta.
Currently, the number of cases appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa, according to the UN health agency.
WHO explains that the variant has been detected at faster rates than in previous surges in infection, suggesting it “may have a growth advantage”.
WHO experts have asked countries to enhance surveillance and genome sequencing efforts to better understand the variant.
There are also a number of studies underway and the agency’s technical advisory group, known by the acronym TAG-VE, will continue to evaluate this variant.
WHO will communicate new findings to Member States and to the public as needed.
WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said the information about the new ‘Omicron’ variant is still limited.
“There are fewer than 100 whole genome sequences that are available, we don’t know very much about this yet.
“What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations, and the concern is that when you have so many mutations it can have an impact on how the virus behaves,” she said.
Kerkhove explained that researchers are currently trying to determine where the mutations are and what they potentially mean for diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
“It will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has, there’s a lot of work that is underway,” she added.
In addition, the UN health agency urged all countries to adopt a risk-based and scientific approach to travel bans linked to the new variant identified in South Africa and Botswana.
Kerkhove thanked researchers from these countries for openly sharing information to the UN health agency.
“Everyone out there: do not discriminate against countries that share their findings openly,” she urged, as countries such as Britain, France and Israel have moved to cancel direct flights from South Africa and surrounding nations.
The WHO officials restated previous advice: that people can do a lot to protect themselves from COVID, including by continuing to wear masks and avoiding crowds.
“Everybody that’s out there needs to understand that the more this virus circulates the more opportunities the virus has to change, the more mutations we will see,” said Kerkhove.
“Get vaccinated when you can, make sure you receive the full course of your doses and make sure you take steps to reduce your exposure and prevent yourself from passing that virus to someone else,” she added.
According to South African health authorities, so far, fewer than 100 cases of the new variant have been confirmed, largely among young people who have the lowest vaccination rate in the country.
“Countries can do a lot already in terms of surveillance and sequencing and work together with the affected countries or globally.
Countries can work together with affected countries or globally and scientifically to fight this variant and understand more about it so that we know how to go about it.
“So, at this point, implementing travel measures is being cautioned against,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told journalists in Geneva.
November 27, 2021