The WHO announced almost 60% of the distance traveled in the fight against COVID-19

Humanity will soon pass 60% of the way in the fight against covid-19 , but there may still be unexpected obstacles ahead, so it is premature to predict the timing of the end of the pandemic. This was stated in an interview with the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick by Chief Scientist of the World HEALTH Organization (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan.

So, answering the question at what stage is humanity now, “if we compare the pandemic with a marathon,” she said: “I hope that we will soon overcome 60% of the route. However, it is possible that we will have to overcome many more obstacles.”

“It would be premature to say that we will soon overcome it [the end of the pandemic], it is not. Too much remains unknown for that, including the unexpected emergence of new variants [of CORONAVIRUS strains],” Swaminathan said.

The WHO Chief Scientist also drew attention to the significant gap in the coverage of the population with vaccination against COVID-19 in different countries and regions of the world. According to her, in some states, 70-80% of the population has been vaccinated, and in Africa, the vaccination rate falls short of 4%. “The longer we put up with this situation, the higher the risk of new variants [of the coronavirus] emerging,” she concluded.