Governments should brace for more Covid waves, say health chiefs
The WHO's Dr Mike Ryan said European governments should not relax about Covid-19. “The real work for countries now is to really review your national plans,” he said.
The World Health Organization has called on governments to prepare for winter, with more Covid surges expected and current case numbers believed to be underestimated.
Case numbers rose by almost 30% in the last two weeks, director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Testing has been scaled back in many countries, which he said obscures the true picture of what is happening.
“It also means that treatments are not given early enough to prevent serious illness or death,” he warned. “In Europe and America, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving waves. In countries like India a new sub-lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected.”
He said the next variant's behaviour cannot be predicted, and he called for acceleration of clinical trials.
At the same briefing, Dr Mike Ryan, the Irishman heading up the emergency response, said European governments should not relax.
“The real work for countries now is to really review your national plans,” he said.
He said winter will come in the Northern hemisphere with children and students again all indoors, and questioned if governments are ready. They need to look at improving genetic sequencing, contact tracing, increasing global trials and closing gaps in immunity with vaccinations, he said.
He said:
There has been “almost a collapse in testing” across Europe, he said despite growing anecdotal evidence of higher case numbers.
“I do think beyond the actual hard data there is a much more intense wave of infection passing through,” he added.
He noted vaccines are "very much working", adding that in the main, among people who are fully vaccinated, particularly people who are boosted and in vulnerable groups, there is not a rise in ICU admissions.
"We are not seeing a serious rise in deaths," he said. It had been hoped summer would limit infections in Europe but that is not happening.
“The WHO is not here to tell the world it is time to shutdown or lockdown,” he added.
Dr Abdi Mahamud said other health measures work, saying: “We don’t know when this virus will be endemic, but it clearly shows it has the potential. Let’s protect our loved ones.”
Dr Tedros also said price negotiations continue around delivering Paxlovid, a treatment manufactured by Pfizer, to poorer countries.
“This is delaying access, and some countries may choose to wait for a generic version of the antiviral, probably available in early 2023 and this will cost lives,” he said.
“I call on Pfizer to work closely with health agencies in countries to ensure its new oral antiviral is available quickly.”
Ireland has ordered 14,000 doses of Paxlovid, with 5,200 delivered, although less than 300 have been used.
The briefing also heard from Dr Rosamund Lewis that children, including under 5s, have caught monkeypox through household contacts.
The WHO remains “extremely concerned” about this virus with over 6,000 cases now globally. There were 39 in Ireland up to last week.
