THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION REMINDED OF THE YOUTH MORTALITY FROM CORONAVIRUS

American epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, representing the WHO, reminded of the young people who were killed by the new coronavirus. She noted that the disease did not care about age restrictions, and many young people were hit badly by the disease, getting into intensive care units around the world.

According to the latest official figures, about 22 million people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and more than 773 thousand people have died from diseases caused by the virus. According to the WHO’s representative, the desire of young people to live a normal life is understandable. However, the rules and protective measures must be complied with.

Her words were complemented by the speech of the director of the emergency program in the field of health, Michael Ryan. On August 18, he announced that the herd immunity cannot be considered a panacea for a pandemic. According to Ryan, additional measures are necessary to stop the spread of the disease.

There is no hope for the universal immunity that will appear and save the humanity.

In this regard, the WHO has paid a special attention to the nationalism, which has become an additional factor that aggravates the manifestation of the disease. As the head of the WHO, Tedros Adan Ghebreyesus, emphasized, the distribution of the medical resources and vaccines against the virus exclusively "to the nearest and dearest" brings additional risks.

Thus, the WHO’s staff once again reminded us that the coronavirus should not be presented exclusively as a killer of the elderly people. The research shows that people with chronic ilnesses are more at risk of disease. Although for 80% of people, the disease can follow its mild or normal pattern, about 13% of cases are severe patients, and 5% of patients are in critical condition.

Global statistics show that men die more often than women (2.8% to 1.7%).

The exact reasons that might explain this statistics are still unknown. Moreover, the representatives of the WHO tried to dispel the rumors that the infection can be transmitted through food. During the briefing, Michael Ryan noted that there was neither basis nor any evidence for such a conclusion. What is more, according to Van Kerkhove, the process of cooking is fatal to the coronavirus itself.