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Vaccination rates ‘falling alarmingly’
Cases at the Olympics highlight Currently in circulation The World Health Organization is concerned that the number of vaccinations to prevent severe COVID-19 illness has fallen.
“Over the past two years we have seen a sharp decline in vaccination coverage, especially among health care workers and people over 60, the two groups most at risk. This situation needs to be reversed urgently,” said Van Kerkhove, who described the current vaccination coverage rate as “terrible.”
The UN health agency urged people to make sure they have received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within the past 12 months, especially those who are at high risk.
The agency recommends getting the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the seasonal flu vaccine to increase coverage.
“What we’re concerned about is … with such low viral coverage and such widespread transmission, if a more severe variant emerges, the likelihood that high-risk groups will develop severe disease is very high,” Van Kerkhove explained.
In addition, about 6% of symptomatic cases will develop post-COVID-19 sequelae, or long-term COVID-19, placing a “huge burden” on health services.
After the pandemic, “people do think COVID is gone… but the virus is not gone,” Van Kerkhove stressed.
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