The European regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this Tuesday to “let your guard down” in the face of covid-19, which continues to kill nearly a thousand people a week in Europe.
“While it is no longer a global public health emergency, Covid-19 has not gone away,” Hans Kluge said at a news conference.
On May 5, the WHO declared the end of the public health emergency of international concern over Covid-19, but “there are still nearly 1,000 deaths per week in the region” from the disease, the WHO said. official.
In addition, “this number is underestimated due to the decline in countries regularly reporting deaths” caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, Kluge said, urging authorities to increase the vaccination coverage of at least 70% of the vulnerable population to ensure.
The WHO director for Europe reaffirmed that it was “a complex disease, about which very little is known,” even though one in 30 Europeans has been affected by long-term covid in the past three years.
According to estimates, about 36 million inhabitants of the region, which includes 53 countries and extends to Central Asia, were undoubtedly affected by a long-term covid (when some symptoms of the disease persist for more than four weeks after infection).
“We must continue to pay attention to the long-term consequences of covid, such as long-term covid (…) These continue to have a major impact on health worldwide and cannot be ignored,” emphasized the person in charge of emergency situations in the region, Catherine Smallwood.
The WHO has declared the end of Covid-19 an international public health emergency after three years and about 20 million deaths worldwide.
According to data from the Directorate General of Health, since March 1, 2020, when the first cases were reported, more than 5.59 million cases of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and 26,911 deaths from covid have been recorded in Portugal . -19.
According to WHO-Europe, vigilance is also required in the region in light of the mpox epidemic – 22 cases registered in Europe in May – and the consequences of the heat waves.
EU Council adopts recommendation for global network of health certificates
The Council of the European Union (EU) has now adopted a recommendation to speed up the transition of vaccination certificates against SARS-CoV-2 to a global certification network of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The recommendation encourages member states to join the WHO certificate network, which would provide global access in the event of a future pandemic or health emergency, rather than being limited to the EU and other countries.
“As Member States join, and for the period until the end of this year, we encourage them to remain on the EU Gateway [a plataforma digital da União para a verificação de certificados]the EU Council added in a statement.
The WHO platform will integrate the technology used by the European Union to develop covid-19 certificates.
Despite the Brussels recommendation, member states will decide whether they want to be part of this global network.
The regulation of covid-19 digital certificates in the EU ends on Friday 30 June. On June 5, the European Commission presented a proposal for a recommendation from the Council of the EU for the establishment of a health certificate that belongs to a global network.
Source: DN
