Suspect charged after Vancouver car ramming leaves 11 dead    Suspect in killing of general claims he was paid by Ukraine    North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia for first time    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    400-800 year old giant coral colony discovered within AMAALA waters in the Red Sea    Makkah police arrest Yemeni and Egyptian suspects of fake Hajj campaign    Kafalah grants 1,900 loan guarantees worth over SR4.8 billion to SMEs during 1Q 2025    Council of Senior Scholars reaffirms performing Hajj without a permit is a sinful act    HR Ministry launches 'Ajeer Al-Hajj' service for seasonal work during Hajj 2025    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



70% vaccination target must be met to ward off Omicron: WHO
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 05 - 01 - 2022

As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to surge across the world, the UN health agency on Tuesday said that it was crucial that more is done to help all countries receive lifesaving coronavirus jabs as quickly as possible.
The development comes as a senior World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist repeated the agency's message that countries could not "boost" their way out of the pandemic, while the Omicron variant was transmitting so "intensely", just as the Delta variant has done.
"In the context of intense social mixing, in the context of limited use of proven public health measures, in the context of limited vaccination coverage globally...those are conditions that will allow any variant, any virus, to thrive," Dr Maria Van Kerkhove told BBC radio. "Omicron is taking advantage of that, and so is Delta."
Before the holiday period, 128 countries reported that they had identified Omicron, the WHO said, during a scheduled press briefing in Geneva.
WHO epidemiologist Dr Abdi Mahamud, told journalists that there was still not enough data available to say whether the Omicron variant is less severe than other coronavirus strains.
He noted that in London, which has been "hit very hard" by spiking numbers of COVID-19 infections, hospitalisation rates were around 20 per cent lower now than they had been in 2020, before vaccinations were available.
"So the main message is, if you are vaccinated, you are protected, but if you are vulnerable or if you have not been vaccinated, this Omicron - however light or mild it may be for others - it could hit you very hard," he said. "So, vaccination (is) very critical."
The WHO epidemiologist noted that an increasing number of studies seemed to show that the Omicron variant appeared to affect mostly the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms.
Other strains impact the lungs, and could cause severe pneumonia, he said, but further research was needed to prove this Omicron assessment.
"The challenge has not been the vaccine, but the vaccination of the most vulnerable populations," he said, before urging more countries to push for 70 per cent vaccine coverage as soon as possible.
Without this level of vaccine protection, the virus "replicates in an environment that's overcrowded, not ventilated and not vaccinated", Dr Mahamud continued, describing these types of settings as ideal places for COVID-19 to mutate.
"We saw it in Beta, we saw it in Delta, we saw it in Omicron, so it is in the global interest" to vaccinate 70 per cent of national populations to reduce the impact of the variant, he said.
WHO's call for vaccine equity is not new and comes as many wealthy countries consider offering a fourth coronavirus vaccine to their populations.
Before Christmas, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "blanket booster programmes" were likely to prolong the pandemic "by diverting supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate".
The WHO chief stressed that the priority must be on supporting countries to vaccinate 40 per cent of their populations as quickly as possible, and 70 per cent by the middle of 2022. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.