‘We can stop the acute phase of the Covid epidemic this year if…,’ says WHO chief

WHO has slammed the imbalance in Covid-19 vaccinations between rich and poor countries as a catastrophic moral failure. Fewer than 10% of people in lower-income countries have received even one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, the health body had said on Tuesday that there were 21 million new coronavirus cases reported globally last week, the highest weekly number of Covid-19 cases recorded since the pandemic began.

In its weekly assessment of the pandemic, the WHO said the number of new coronavirus infections rose by 5% and that the rate of increase appears to be slowing; only half of the regions reported an increase in Covid-19.

Earlier this month, the previous highest number of cases — 9.5 million — was recorded amid a 71% spike from the week before, as the hugely contagious Omicron variant swept the world.

According to the WHO, the Middle East saw the largest increase in cases, with a 39 percent increase, followed by Southeast Asia with a 36 percent increase. Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas had a rise in deaths, while other areas saw a decrease.