The Covid pandemic ‘is very serious but not necessarily the largest

THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic “is very serious but not necessarily big,” warns the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Mark Ryan, director of the WHO emergency program, said “even more severe” could be on the horizon and Covid-19 is a “wake-up call.”

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His comments came as NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens warned that the British were in “the eye of the storm” as England’s hospitals deal with more Covid patients than during the peak of the first wave in April. .

Speaking during a WHO online briefing today, Dr. Ryan warned that other emerging diseases could be more dangerous than Covid.

Before talking about other risks, he cautioned that what he had to say “would surprise some people.”

He said: “This pandemic has been very serious, it has spread around the world extremely rapidly and has affected every corner of this planet, but this is not necessarily the largest.”

“This virus is highly communicable and kills people and has deprived so many of their loved ones, but its current fatality is reasonably low compared to other emerging diseases.”

“This is a wake-up call, now we are learning to do things better.

“How to do science better, how to do logistics better, how to do better training, how to do better governance, how to communicate better.”

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He said the WHO had developed new infodemiology and advanced behavioral science to deal with the pandemic, but stressed that the society in which we live is “increasingly complex and fragile.”

Dr Ryan added: “These threats will continue, if there is anything we have to take from this pandemic, from all the tragedy and the loss, it is that we must act together.”

“We need to prepare for something that may be even more serious in the future.”

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He added that we must “honor the people we have lost by getting better at the things we do every day.”

Two new variants of the coronavirus have recently been identified, one in south-east England and one in South Africa.

Scientists are still working to find out the severity of the new variants and there have been concerns that the current Covid vaccine might not work.

NEW VARIANT

Experts have said that there is no evidence yet to indicate that the new vaccines will not work.

But Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO Covid-19 technical lead, said the prevalence of the new variants should be a “wake-up call.”

He said that the variants can already be controlled with the measures already in place, but said that it is necessary to comply with them in order for them to work.

Dr Van Kerkhove said: “You have heard everyone here say that these mutations will continue to occur. We need even more determination.

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“I know everyone is tired and fed up with this and they want this to end.

“But this should push us even further, to have even more resolve to end this pandemic.

“Vaccines are online. This is an incredibly powerful tool. We cannot lose this battle now.

“We are all in this together and we need to reduce transmission wherever we can.”

The WHO warnings come as Covid infections in the UK hit a record high, with 41,385 laboratory-confirmed cases recorded yesterday.

Another 357 deaths were reported, 66 percent more than the total of 215 the previous Monday.

Sir Simon said: “We are back in the eye of the storm with a second wave of coronavirus hitting Europe and indeed this country.

“We believe that by late spring, with vaccine supplies continuing to arrive, we will have been able to offer the Covid vaccine to all vulnerable people in this country.

“That perhaps provides the best hope for next year.”