MANILA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that it was concerned that the new spread of coronavirus was being driven out by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of whom were unaware they were infected, a danger to vulnerable groups.
PHILO PHOTO: People queue for a nightclub after coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions on restaurants, bars and nightclubs were lifted in Helsinki, Finland July 15, 2020. Jussi Nukari / Lehtikuva / via REUTERS
WHO officials said this month that the proportion of young people among the infected worldwide has increased, putting vulnerable sectors of the population at risk worldwide, including the elderly and sick people in densely populated areas with poor health care services.
“The epidemic is changing,” WHO Western Pacific Regional Director Takeshi Kasai told a virtual briefing. ‘People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving the spread. Many are unaware that they are infected. ”
“This increases the risk of spillovers for the more vulnerable,” he added.
A rise in new cases has prompted some countries to set up ramparts as companies race to find a vaccine for a virus that has threatened economies, killed more than 770,000 people and infected nearly 22 million, according to a Reuters census.
Surges were reported in countries that appeared to have the virus under control, including Vietnam, which until recently went three months without domestic transmission due to its aggressive mitigation efforts.
“What we are observing is not just a restart. “We believe this is a signal that we have entered a new phase of pandemic in the Asia-Pacific,” Kasai said.
He said countries were better able to reduce constraints on lives and economies by combining early detection and response to manage infections.
While mutations were observed, the WHO still saw the virus as “relatively stable,” Kasai said.
WHO also reminds drugmakers to follow all necessary research and development steps when making a vaccine.
Socorro Escalante, its technical officer and adviser on pharmaceutical policy, said the WHO was coordinating with Russia, which this month became the first country to grant regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine.
“We hope to get the answer in terms of the evidence of this new vaccine,” Escalante said.
Written by Ed Davies and Karen Lema; Edited by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Martin Petty
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