Covid, WHO: “9 deaths per minute worldwide”

“Yesterday alone, more than 13 thousand people around the world lost their lives due to Covid-19”. It means “9 every minute”. And “today the number will be similar. So tomorrow, and the next day.” “People will continue to die as long as the global disparity in vaccines persists.” This is the warning launched by the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the occasion of the Global Health Summit in Rome. Read also “The rapid development of Covid vaccines is a triumph of science. But their unequal distribution is a failure for humanity” underlined the director general of the World Health Organization. “Almost 90% of all vaccines administered globally are concentrated in the G20 countries”, noted the dg. But “we can only end the pandemic if everyone has the tools to stop it.” Three demands made: “First, to end this pandemic, with a combination of tailored public health measures and a fair distribution of vaccines “. This is why “we ask the G20 countries to fund the” Act Accelerator “platform completely and urgently, which aims to guarantee broad access to tools for combating Covid-19; “We ask for more doses to be shared faster through Covax, thanking all countries who announced generous donations today. This is a very encouraging start towards the hundreds and millions of doses that we will need in the coming weeks and months.” And, added Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, we ask “to increase production urgently, through the sharing of technology and know-how and the renunciation of the provisions on intellectual property, with a focus on Africa”. “REAL DEATHS 2-3 TIMES MORE THAN REPORTED” The 3.4 million deaths from Covid-19 currently reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) “are likely significantly underestimated. The real numbers” could be “at least 2-3 times higher “. This is suggested by the WHO on the basis of the “excess mortality estimates for 2020”, calculated as part of the annual assessment on the state of health of the world, contained in the World Health Statistics report, published today. “As of December 31, 2020 – the UN health agency explains in a note – preliminary estimates suggest that the total number of deaths in the world attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 is at least 3 million, that is 1.2 million in more than the 1.8 million officially reported “. Each country faces different challenges to complete and correct Covid deaths, argues WHO, explaining how it is “working with all interested parties to refine statistical models and obtain accurate counts”.