The World Health Organisation on Wednesday released an updated preparedness plan for Covid-19 pandemic.
The organisation released three possible scenarios of how the pandemic could evolve this year.
“Based on what we know now, the most likely scenario is that the virus continues to evolve, but the severity of the disease it causes reduces over time as immunity increases due to vaccination and infection,” WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom said in a briefing.
He, however, warned that cases and deaths may also occur as immunity rates drop and this might require periodic boosting for vulnerable populations.
“In the best-case scenario, we may see less severe variants emerge, and boosters or new formulations of vaccines won’t be necessary. But in the worst-case scenario, more highly transmissible variants may emerge,” Tedros warned.
He advised countries to follow the new updated Strategic Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan, which addresses drivers of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) transmission, to lessen its impacts.
“We have all the tools we need to bring this pandemic under control. We can prevent transmission with masks, distancing, hand hygiene and ventilation. We can save lives by ensuring everyone has access to tests, treatments and vaccines.”
The first report of this kind was released in February 2020.
Tedros said he hoped that this, third Strategic Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan was going to be the last.
