The World Health Organization said on Thursday that between 80,000 and 180,000 health care workers could die by Covid-19 by May this year, emphasizing that vaccination should be a priority for them.
A WHO paper estimated that out of the world’s 135 million health workers, “80,000 to 180,000 health and care workers may die from Covid-19 in the period between January 2020 and May 2021”.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health care workers need to be vaccinated against the disease first, as he criticized the global disparity in vaccine roll-out.
“Data from 119 countries shows that globally, on average, two out of five health and care workers are fully vaccinated. But of course, this average hides huge differences in regions and economic groups.”
“In Africa, one in 10 health workers has been fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, in most high-income countries, more than 80 percent of healthcare workers are fully vaccinated.”
He said: “We call on all countries to ensure that all health and care workers in every country are prioritized for Covid-19 vaccines, along with other at-risk groups.”
Tedros said that more than 10 months after the WHO approved the first vaccines, the fact that millions of health workers were still not vaccinated could put pressure on countries and companies controlling the global supply of doses. Is. indictment”.
Annette Kennedy, president of the International Council of Nurses, said the organization was saddened for all the health care workers who lost their lives – “unnecessarily many; we could have saved much more.”
“This is a shocking indictment of governments. It is a shocking allegation that there is a lack of duty to protect the health care workers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their lives,” she said.
Kennedy said: “They are now burned out, they are devastated, they are physically and mentally exhausted. And there is a prediction that 10 percent of them will be gone in a very short time.”
The WHO wants each country to vaccinate 40 percent of its population by the end of the year, but Tedros said 82 countries are now at risk of missing that target, mainly because of insufficient supplies.
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 4.9 million people, while nearly 242 million cases have been reported since its outbreak in China in December 2019, according to official sources compiled by AFP.
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