An increase in COVID-19 cases is expected in the autumn-winter period in Europe. UN News reports, citing Hans Kluge, Director of WHO’s Office for the region.
According to him, the situation is aggravated by a seasonal flu epidemic, the spread of monkeypox and weakening of attention to vaccinations, including against polio.
«We have made great strides in addressing the pandemic. But the virus is still circulating widely, still putting people in hospital, still causing too many preventable deaths — some 3,000 in the past week alone, about a third of the global recorded total,» said Dr. Kluge.
Hans Kluge said that WHO recently developed a COVID-19 strategy for the autumn-winter period — it is comprehensive and contains a clear list of measures that countries should take to contain the spread of both SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viral diseases. He recalled the importance of immunization, stressing that mass vaccination continues in most countries, including middle- and low-income ones.
Millions of people in many parts of our region remain unvaccinated and we need to find better ways to get them involved in vaccination.
Hans Kluge
«It is necessary to ensure the priority of revaccination for the most vulnerable groups of the population, including the elderly, patients with disorders of the immune system and suffering from concomitant diseases,» the head of the WHO Office said.
Hans Kluge urged countries, where appropriate, to vaccinate against influenza. WHO recommended everyone to protect themselves on their own: wear masks in crowded places, in public transport, ventilate rooms well and wash hands regularly.
Speaking about the outbreak of monkeypox in the European Region, the head of the WHO European Office recalled that more than 22 confirmed cases of the disease were recorded in 43 countries and zones of the region, which is more than a third of the global number of infected people.
«In the case of Germany, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, France and other countries, we are seeing encouraging signs that the spread of the disease may be slowing down. In order to eliminate the outbreak in our region, it is urgent to increase the measures taken,» he said, adding that the WHO is confident that they can stop human-to-human transmission of monkeypox in the region, but this requires effort and resources.
In this regard, this week WHO will release two new «policy notes»: one listing the strategic goals and measures that need to be taken to contain and ultimately eliminate the outbreak of monkeypox, and the second will describe measures to vaccinate against this disease.
