"Blood On Your Hands" If World Steps Back On Tackling Covid Now: WHO

If rich nations think the pandemic is over, they should help lower-income countries reach that point too, a senior World Health Organization official told Reuters.

A senior World Health Organization official told Reuters that if rich countries believe the pandemic is over, they should help low-income countries get to that point as well.

In an interview, the World Health Organization's chief adviser, Bruce Aylward, warned that rich countries should not back down from tackling COVID-19 as a global problem now,

Before possible waves of infection in the future.

In the past few weeks, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the end of the epidemic was imminent, and US President Joe Biden said that the epidemic was over.

“When I hear them say, 'Well, we're very comfortable here,' it's like, 'Wow,'

"Now you really can help us get the rest of the world done," Aylward said.

Aylward said the group he coordinates, which is focused on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing around the world,

They are not yet ready to exit the emergency phase of the pandemic and countries need to be prepared and have treatments ready for any further waves of infection.

He said, "If you sleep now and this wave hits us in three months... Oh God - blood is on your hands."

He also stressed that Biden has a domestic view as the United States has good access to all COVID tools. He added that it has not cut its global commitment to combating the Corona virus.

Aylward coordinates the ACT Accelerator,

A partnership between the World Health Organization and other global health agencies to help poor countries access COVID-19 tools. The effort, which includes vaccine-focused COVAX, has reached billions of people worldwide, but has faced criticism for not acting fast enough. There has been some speculation that the effort may end this fall,

But Aylward said he was simply shifting his focus as the pandemic changed.

Over the next six months, the partnership will aim in particular to deliver vaccines to nearly a quarter of the world's health care workers and older adults who do not have access to an injection, as well as improving access to testing and--

He dealt privately with Pfizer's Paxlovid, he said.

Aylward said he will also look to the future as COVID is "here to stay," and unless regulations are put in place, support will collapse once other industrialized nations also believe the pandemic is over.

The initiative already has an $11 billion gap in its budget, with most $5 available.

7 billion in funding has been pledged for vaccines rather than tests or treatments.

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