Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Netanyahu: If Lebanese Army takes steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including phased reduction of Israeli military presence in Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Photojournalist Houssam Al-Masri martyred, reporters Hatem Omar, Mohammad Ashraf Salameh injured in Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex.
Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace

COVID-19 rising globally due to 'alarming decline' in vaccines: WHO

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 6 Aug 2024 15:19
3 Min Read

WHO confirms positive COVID-19 cases have been rising for several weeks, and detected in 84 countries

Listen
  • x
  • A medical worker prepares a syringe of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a suburb of Manila on November 29, 2021. (AFP)
    A medical worker prepares a syringe of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a suburb of Manila on November 29, 2021. (AFP)

COVID-19 cases are rising globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday, adding that vaccine coverage is experiencing an "alarming decline." 

"The virus is circulating in all countries," WHO director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention Maria Van Kerkhove said in a UN press briefing in Geneva, highlighting that the "Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries reports that the percent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising for several weeks."

Test positivity is currently above 10%. However, this number varies according to the region, with Van Kerkhove adding that the positivity percentage in Europe is above 20%.

Virus circulation is 2-20 times higher than reported

Related News

Gaza crisis worsens amid surge in deadly antibiotic-resistant diseases

US leaves power vacuum in UN, China jumps in to fill it

The circulation of the COVID-19 virus is 2-20 times higher than what is currently being reported, wastewater surveillance suggests, with the WHO director warning that "This is significant because the virus continues to evolve and change, which puts us all at risk of a potentially more severe virus that could evade our detection and/or our medical interventions, including vaccination."

"Such high circulation is not 'typical' for respiratory viruses that tend to increase in circulation in the colder months," Van Kerkhove noted, emphasizing that despite the season, many countries have experienced surges in COVID-19 cases in the last few months.

These cases are resulting in increased hospitalizations and deaths around the world, noting that these surges are also present at the Paris Olympics where at least 40 athletes have tested positive for the virus. 

Vaccination decline needs to be reversed

"Over the last two years, we have seen an alarming decline in vaccine coverage, especially among health workers and people over 60, two of the most at-risk groups," the WHO director said, asserting "This urgently needs to be turned around," by recommending countries co-administrate COVID-19 vaccinations with seasonal influenza vaccines to reverse the reduction.

Van Kerkhove also urged international governments to continue investing in and supporting an understanding of COVID-19 circulation and impact, as well as equipping their communities with the necessary tools to protect themselves and care for those suffering from acute and long-term COVID-19 effects, including post-COVID-19 conditions.

"WHO urges countries to continue to sharpen their pandemic preparedness, readiness, and response systems on which they have worked so hard during COVID, to be ready for surges of COVID-19 as well as other emerging and re-emerging pathogens, like avian influenza H5N1, mpox, dengue," she said.

  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • WHO
  • World Health Organization
  • Maria Van Kerkhove

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)

Hamas, other factions accept Egypt-Qatar ceasefire proposal: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 18 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS