WHO warns about rising COVID-19 cases globally amid 'alarming decline' in vaccine coverage

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said the circulation of COVID-19 is rising in all countries while an "alarming decline" in vaccine coverage has been observed.

"The virus is circulating in all countries," Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

"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."

Overall, test positivity is above 10%, but this fluctuates per region, Kerkhove said, adding that in Europe, percent positivity is above 20%.

Wastewater surveillance suggests that the circulation of the virus is 2-20 times higher than what is currently being reported, she said, and warned: "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," she said, noting that in recent months, regardless of season, many countries have experienced surges of COVID-19.

She added that even at the Olympics, currently, at least 40 athletes have so far tested positive.

These surges, which resulted in increases in hospitalizations and deaths in many countries, need to be prevented, she said.

- Vaccination decline needs to be reversed

Kerkhove recommended all countries to consider co-administration of COVID-19 vaccines with seasonal influenza vaccines due to the decline in COVID-19 vaccination.

"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," she said. "This urgently needs to be turned around."

She reminded people in the highest-risk groups of WHO's recommendation that they receive a COVID-19 vaccine within 12 months of their last dose.

She also called on governments to continue to invest and support a global understanding of circulation and impact and provide their populations with the tools to protect themselves and care for people suffering from acute and long-term effects of COVID-19, including post-COVID-19 condition.

"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.