The number of fatalities caused by the coronavirus infection worldwide in 2022 has surpassed one million, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing in Geneva on Thursday.
"This week, we crossed the tragic milestone of one million reported deaths so far this year," he said.
"We cannot say we are learning to live with COVID-19 when one million people have died with COVID-19 this year alone," the official emphasized.
Ghebreyesus noted that the global community has "all the tools necessary to prevent these deaths." He urged "all governments to strengthen their efforts to vaccinate all health workers, older people and others at the highest risk." The director general added that the countries should aspire for no less than 70% vaccine coverage of their population.
He reiterated that one-third of the planet’s population "remains unvaccinated." In low-income countries, "two-thirds of health workers and three-quarters of older adults" have not been inoculated.
As of August 24, the WHO has received reports of 595,219,966 coronavirus infections and 6,453,458 deaths caused by COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.
