Estimates derived from a WHO working paper based on the 3.45 mn Covid-19 deaths reported to WHO as of May 2021
Medical staff vaccinate citizens against Covid-19 at the vaccination point at Zagreb Fair in Croatia, on Friday. Pic/AFP
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed an estimated 80,000 to 1,80,000 healthcare workers from January 2020 till May this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The estimates are derived from a new WHO working paper based on the 3.45 million COVID-19 related deaths reported to WHO as at May 2021.
“The backbone of every health system is its workforce. COVID-19 is a powerful demonstration of just how much we rely on these men and women, and how vulnerable we all are when the people who protect our health are themselves unprotected,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the WHO weekly COVID-19 briefing on Thursday.
Available data from 119 countries, in the working paper, suggest that by September 2021, two in five healthcare workers were fully vaccinated on average, with considerable difference across regions and economic groupings.
Less than one in 10 have been fully vaccinated in the African and Western Pacific regions while 22 mostly high-income countries reported that above 80 per cent of their healthcare workers are fully vaccinated. A few large high-income countries have not yet reported data to WHO.
China civil aviation suspends five airlines
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has suspended five Chinese and international airlines after COVID-19 cases were reported on flights, Samaa TV reported on Friday. According to a notice dated October 15, the authority had to take the decision after six cases of Coronavirus were confirmed in passengers on Air China flight CA780 (Frankfurt to Changchun) that entered the country on October 1.
Beijing offers booster shots
China’s capital Beijing has begun offering booster shots against COVID-19, four months before the city and surrounding regions are to host the Winter Olympics. Anyone 18 or older who have received two-dose Chinese vaccines and belong to at-risk groups, would be eligible for the additional shot, state media reported.
Pfizer booster shot shows full protection
Pfizer and BioNTech has announced that a large-scale trial of their COVID-19 vaccine booster showed it restored full protection against the disease. In a Phase 3 randomised, controlled trial, a Pfizer-BioNTech booster dose was administered to more than 10,000 individuals 16 years of age and older, reports Xinhua news agency.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliabilitsy and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the contents in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
