COVID-19: WHO urges more nations to push for 70% vaccine coverage amid Omicron surge

Amid the spike in cases of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron throughout the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated on Tuesday that more has to be done to ensure that all nations obtain life-saving coronavirus vaccines as soon as possible. It appealed to more nations to push for 70% vaccine coverage as soon as possible, stating that vaccination of the most vulnerable groups has remained the main issue to combat the pandemic. This announcement comes after a top WHO epidemiologist reiterated the agency's warning by saying that nations could not "boost" their way out of the outbreak since the Omicron was propagating so "intensely", much like the Delta strain. 

Epidemiologist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove told BBC radio, “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. Omicron is taking advantage of that, and so is Delta,” as per a UN report.  

WHO: 70% COVID vaccine coverage is must 

WHO epidemiologist Dr. Abdi Mahamud asserted, before pushing more governments to push for 70% vaccine coverage as soon as possible. She stressed that "the challenge has not been the vaccine", but vaccination of the most vulnerable groups has been the issue. He also said there is yet insufficient evidence to tell if the Omicron varient is less deadly than other coronavirus variants. 

Dr. Mahamud added that without the vaccination protection, the virus replicates in an atmosphere that is congested, poorly ventilated, and not inoculated. He went on to say that this type of pattern has been observed in the case of Beta as well as Delta variant, and now it is seen in Omicron. He highlighted that it is "in the global interest" to vaccinate 70% of country populations to lessen the variant's consequences. 

However, the WHO epidemiologist has also pointed out the fact that hospitalisation rates in London, which has been hit  hard by rising COVID-19 infections, are roughly 20% lower now than they were in 2020 when vaccines were available. Thus, he concluded by saying that if people are vaccinated, then they are safe. Further added the point, “if you are vulnerable or if you have not been vaccinated, this Omicron - however light or mild it may be for others - could hit you very hard,” UN reported. He emphasised that immunisation is quite important. 

In addition to this, a growing number of studies tend to suggest that the Omicron strain affects primarily the upper respiratory tract, generating milder symptoms, according to the WHO epidemiologist.  

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