Covid may have killed up to 180,000 health workers globally, WHO says

The World Health Organization says 80,000 to 180,000 healthcare workers whitethorn person been killed by Covid-19 up to May this year, insisting they indispensable beryllium prioritised for vaccination.

A WHO insubstantial connected Thursday estimated that retired of the world’s 135 cardinal wellness staff, “between 80,000 to 180,000 wellness and attraction workers could person died from Covid-19 successful the play betwixt January 2020 to May 2021”.

The WHO chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said healthcare workers needed to beryllium immunised against the illness first, arsenic helium slammed the planetary inequity successful the vaccine rollout.

“Data from 119 countries suggest that connected average, 2 successful 5 wellness and attraction workers globally are afloat vaccinated. But of people that mean masks immense differences crossed regions and economical groupings.

“In Africa, little than successful 1 successful 10 wellness workers person been afloat vaccinated. Meanwhile, successful astir high-income countries, much than 80% of wellness workers are afloat vaccinated.”

He added: “We telephone connected each countries to guarantee that each wellness and attraction workers successful each state are prioritised for Covid-19 vaccines, alongside different at-risk groups.”

Tedros said that much than 10 months connected since the archetypal vaccines were approved by the WHO, the information that millions of wellness workers inactive had not been vaccinated was an “indictment” connected the countries and companies controlling the planetary proviso of doses.

Annette Kennedy, president of the International Council of Nurses, said the organisation grieved for each healthcare workers who had mislaid their lives – “many needlessly, galore we could person saved”.

“It’s a shocking indictment of governments. It’s a shocking indictment of their deficiency of work of attraction to support healthcare workers who person paid the eventual sacrifice with their lives.”

Kennedy added: “They are present burnt out, they are devastated, they are physically and mentally exhausted. And determination is simply a prediction that 10% of them volition permission wrong a precise abbreviated time.”

The WHO wants each state to person vaccinated 40% of its colonisation by the extremity of the year, but Tedros said 82 countries were present astatine hazard of missing that target, chiefly done insufficient supply.

Covid-19 has killed astatine slightest 4.9 cardinal radical since the outbreak emerged successful China successful December 2019, according to a tally from authoritative sources compiled by AFP, portion astir 242 cardinal cases person been registered.