Up to 180,000 health workers may have died from COVID-19 

That grim estimate features in a new WHO working paper based on the 3.45 cardinal coronavirus-related deaths reported globally to the UN wellness agency up to May; a fig that WHO said whitethorn good beryllium astatine slightest 60 per cent little than the existent fig of victims.  

To highlight the request for better protection, WHO was joined by planetary partners moving to extremity the pandemic, to issue an urgent telephone for factual action on behalf of workers successful the sector.  

Speaking to journalists successful Geneva, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reiterated that “the backbone of each wellness strategy is its workforce.” 

“COVID-19 is simply a almighty objection of conscionable however overmuch we trust connected these men and women, and however susceptible we each are erstwhile the radical who support our wellness are themselves unprotected”, helium added.  

Vulnerabilities 

WHO and partners said that isolated from immense interest implicit deaths, an expanding proportionality of the workforce continue to suffer from burnout, stress, anxiousness and fatigue. 

They are calling on leaders and argumentation makers to guarantee equitable entree to vaccines truthful that wellness and attraction workers are prioritized.  

By the extremity of past month, on average, two successful five of these workers are fully vaccinated, but with sizeable quality crossed regions.  

“In Africa, little than one successful ten health workers person been afloat vaccinated. Meanwhile, successful astir high-income countries, much than 80% of wellness workers are afloat vaccinated", Tedros informed.  

For him, much than 10 months since the archetypal vaccines were approved, “the information that millions of wellness workers inactive haven’t been vaccinated is an indictment connected the countries and companies that power the planetary proviso of vaccines". 

Action from the G20 

In 10 days’ time, the leaders of the G20 leading industrialized nations volition meet. Between present and then, astir 500 cardinal vaccine doses volition beryllium produced. 

That’s the number needed to achieve the target of vaccinating 40 per cent of the colonisation of each country, by the extremity of the year.   

Currently, 82 nations are astatine hazard of missing that target. For about 75 per cent of those countries, it’s a problem of insufficient supply. The others have immoderate limitations that WHO is helping solve. 

Speaking to journalists via videolink, Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister and currently WHO’s Ambassador for Global Health Financing, said it would be a "moral catastrophe of historical proportions" if G20 countries cannot enactment quickly. 

These nations person pledged to donate much than 1.2 cardinal vaccine doses to COVAX. According to WHO, truthful far, only 150 cardinal person been delivered.  

With affluent countries stockpiling millions of unused doses, adjacent to expire, Mr. Brown said they should start an “immediate, massive, concerted” airlift of vaccines to debased income countries.  

If they don’t bash it, Mr. Brown argued, they volition beryllium blameworthy of an “economic dereliction of work that volition shame america all.”  

Mr. Brown besides warned that “the longer vaccine inequity exists, the longer the microorganism volition beryllium present." 

Annette Kennedy, President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and Heidi Stensmyren, President of the World Medical Association (WMA), also spoke to journalists astatine the WHO play COVID-19 briefing.