Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the statement decision, reached during a peculiar league of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the UN agency’s apical decision-making body, attended by representatives from its 194 Member States.
Historic session
The three-day gathering began connected Monday with the sole extremity of considering the benefits of creating a caller planetary statement connected pandemic prevention preparedness and however champion to debar the pitfalls that person marred an effectual effect to COVID-19.
This marked lone the 2nd clip the Assembly has met successful a peculiar league since WHO was founded successful 1948.
“The adoption of this determination is origin for celebration, and origin for hope, which we volition need,” Tedros said successful his closing remarks, though noting the roadworthy up is long.
“There are inactive differences of sentiment astir what a caller accord could oregon should contain. But you person proven to each different and the satellite that differences tin beryllium overcome, and communal crushed tin beryllium found.”
Negotiating assemblage to meet
The determination volition establish an intergovernmental negotiating assemblage (INB) that volition negociate and draught immoderate convention, statement oregon different planetary instrument.
A archetypal gathering volition instrumentality spot nary aboriginal than 1 March 2022, and nationalist hearings volition besides beryllium held to pass deliberations.
The INB volition present a advancement study to the World Health Assembly successful 2023 and taxable its result for information the pursuing year.
The improvement comes arsenic the play planetary COVID-19 caseload plateaued, with astir 3.8 cardinal caller cases reported during the play from 22 to 28 November.
As of Tuesday, determination were much than 261 cardinal confirmed cases of the illness globally, and 5.2 cardinal deaths, with the Delta variant continuing to dominate.
Take Omicron seriously
Meanwhile, cases of the caller Omicron variant person been reported successful astatine slightest 23 countries successful 5 of the six WHO regions.
Speaking aboriginal connected Wednesday, Tedros said numbers are expected to grow.
“WHO takes this improvement highly seriously, and truthful should each country,” helium told journalists listening successful to the agency’s regular virtual briefing connected COVID-19.
“But it should not astonishment us. This is what viruses do. And it’s what this microorganism volition proceed to do, arsenic agelong arsenic we let it to proceed spreading.”
Preliminary grounds suggests Omicron whitethorn person “potential immune escape”, and/or perchance higher transmissibility, erstwhile compared to erstwhile variants of concern, according to WHO’s latest weekly epidemiological update connected COVID-19, besides released connected Wednesday.
Tedros said experts are learning much astir the variant, “but there’s inactive much to larn astir its effect connected transmission, severity of disease, and the effectiveness of tests, therapeutics and vaccines.”
He urged countries to instrumentality “rational, proportional risk-reduction measures”, including those aimed astatine delaying oregon reducing spread, specified arsenic screening passengers oregon implementing quarantines for planetary travelers.
Recipe for breeding variants
However, helium stressed that “blanket question bans volition not forestall the planetary dispersed of Omicron, and they spot a dense load connected lives and livelihoods.”
Tedros underlined the request to proceed nationalist wellness measures against coronavirus dispersed and guarantee high-risk and susceptible radical are afloat vaccinated.
He warned that the existent “toxic mix” of debased vaccine coverage, and precise debased testing, are a look for breeding and amplifying variants.
“We request to usage the tools we already person to forestall transmission and prevention lives from Delta. And if we bash that, we volition besides forestall transmission and prevention lives from Omicron. But if countries and individuals don’t bash what they request to bash to halt transmission of Delta, they won’t halt Omicron either,” helium said.
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