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Published: 15:55, December 03, 2022 | Updated: 18:35, December 03, 2022
WHO: Drop in COVID alertness could create deadly new variant
By Reuters
Published:15:55, December 03, 2022 Updated:18:35, December 03, 2022 By Reuters

World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a working session on energy and food security during the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov 15, 2022. (BAY ISMOYO / POOL VIA REUTERS)

Lapses in strategies to tackle COVID-19 this year continue to create the perfect conditions for a deadly new variant to emerge, the head of the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mark a change in tone just months after he said that the world has never been in a better position to end the pandemic.

READ MORE: Irresponsible to say pandemic is over

Gaps in testing ... and vaccination are continuing to create the perfect conditions for a new variant of concern to emerge that could cause significant mortality.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO 

"We are much closer to being able to say that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over, but we're not there yet," Tedros said on Friday.

The global health agency estimates that about 90 percent of the world's population now has some level of immunity to SARS-COV-2 either due to prior infection or vaccination.

"Gaps in testing ... and vaccination are continuing to create the perfect conditions for a new variant of concern to emerge that could cause significant mortality," Tedros said.

COVID-19 infections are at record highs in China and have started to rise in parts of Britain after months of decline.

"While COVID-19 and flu can be mild infections for many, we must not forget that they can cause severe illness or even death for those most vulnerable in our communities", Mary Ramsay, director of public health programs at the UK Health Security Agency, said.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 ‘still an emergency’

The WHO urged governments globally to focus on reaching those at risk, such as people over the age of 60 and those with underlying conditions, for vaccination.

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