Saudi Arabia calls for equitable climate financing at UNHRC    NCM Forecast: Dust storms expected across Saudi Arabia until next week    SR200,000 fine for Saudi and Egyptian in cover-up case    PIF assets soar to $1.15 trillion in 2024    Saudi Arabia advances 14 places to 13th rank in IPR Enforcement Index globally    Hundreds of families displaced by wave of Israeli air strikes on Gaza, witnesses say    Republican Senator Thom Tillis to leave Congress after clash with Trump    Car bomb attack in Pakistan kills at least 13 soldiers    One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands    Saudi Arabia imposes final anti-dumping duties on imports of steel pipes from China and Taiwan    Iranian Army Chief calls Saudi Defense Minister to discuss regional stability    Saudi Arabia's net FDI jumps 44% to SR22 billion in Q1 2025    Historic Jeddah's visual identity re-imagined through global art installations at Al-Arbaeen Lagoon    Saudi Arabia exit Gold Cup after quarterfinal defeat to Mexico    Al Hilal land in Orlando ahead of Club World Cup clash with Manchester City    Cristiano Ronaldo says the past is over and this season will be Al Nassr's    Al Hilal suffer injury blows ahead of Club World Cup match with Manchester City    Brad Pitt's Los Angeles home 'ransacked', police say    Tehran Symphony Orchestra holds free concert to honor Iranians killed in conflict with Israel    49% of Saudi internet users spend 7 hours a day online    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



COVID-19 vaccine rollout 'unbearably slow' in Europe as cases rise, warns WHO
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 01 - 04 - 2021

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Europe is "unacceptably slow" as the number of new cases across the region increased for the sixth consecutive week, the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s European office warned on Thursday.
According to the UN agency, more than 1.6 million people contracted COVID-19 in WHO Europe's 51 countries last week — the sixth weekly rise in a row.
"Only five weeks ago, the weekly number of new cases in Europe had dipped to under one million, but now the region's situation is more worrying than we have seen in several months," Dr. Dorit Nitzan, Regional Emergency Director for Who Europe, stressed in a statement.
The increase was observed in every age group, except in people 80 years or older which WHO Europe said reflects "early signs of the impact of vaccination."
Data from the United Kingdom show that the lives of at least 6,000 people over 70 have been spared since the country launched its vaccination campaign in early December.
"Vaccines present our best way out of this pandemic. Not only do they work, they are also highly effective in preventing infection. However, the roll-out of these vaccines is unacceptably slow," WHO Europe chief, Dr. Hans Kluge, said.
"And as long as the coverage remains low, we need to apply the same public health and social measures as we have in the past, to compensate for delayed schedules. Let me be clear: we must speed up the process by ramping up manufacturing, reducing barriers to administering vaccines, and using every single vial we have in stock, now," he added.
To date, only 10 percent of the region's total population have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and just four percent have been fully immunized.
Vaccination has started in every high-income country in the region but in just 60 percent of lower-and lower-middle-income countries, the WHO highlighted.
Ten middle-income countries have also received doses through the COVAX mechanism — a vaccine sharing program co-led by WHO and of which the European Union is the second-biggest contributor.
"In the past weeks, we've seen both remarkable solidarity across borders in the Region as well as countries hoarding vaccines. Vaccinating health-care workers and the elderly in every country is everybody's moral responsibility," Kluge said.
"While acknowledging the intent of governments to protect their own populations, before the vaccines are extended to other age groups I strongly urge governments to share excess doses of WHO-approved vaccines with COVAX or with countries in need, once health-care workers and the most vulnerable have been vaccinated. Not doing so is self-defeating," he added.
Nearly 578 million doses of the vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to Our World in Data. Nearly 250 million of those have been administered in the US, UK and EU/EEA.
WHO Europe also called on countries to implement public health and social measures to protect populations that have not yet received the vaccine and reduce the strain on healthcare systems.
"The likelihood of new variants of concern occurring increases with the rate at which the virus is replicating and spreading, so curbing transmission through basic disease control actions is crucial," Dr. Nitzan said.
More than half of the 51 counties WHO Europe monitors are in partial or full lockdown.
France is to enter its third national lockdown on Saturday as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care surged over 5,000 for the first time in 11 months. — Euronews


Clic here to read the story from its source.