Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has hailed efforts exerted to curb the spread of coronavirus in the Sultanate, represented by the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA) and Oman TV, Dr. Tedros expressed his delight at “the considerable decline in the number of Covid-19 cases—infection cases, ICU inpatients and deaths.”

This improvement, he noted, is credited to the wise decisions of the COVID-19 Supreme Committee, as well as the commitment of all to precautionary measures and the high rate of vaccination against COVID-19.

Dr. Tedros expressed his appreciation for the fact that immunization in the Sultanate is linked to the civil ID number. He admired the streamlined flow of the immunization process, which, he observed, takes barely 15 minutes at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.

While commending the Sultanate’s efforts, the WHO Director-General deplored the weak global response to WHO calls. This international nonchalance became crystal clear when it came to the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, as producing countries, as well as high-income countries, garnered the greatest proportion of doses, with some booking higher quotas than they actually needed.

Dr. Tedros urged all countries to cooperate to combat the disease, at least by maintaining fair distribution of vaccines. It is pointless to have citizens of a certain country get full access to all sorts of vaccines at a time only 2 per cent of the population in Africa is vaccinated, said Dr. Tedros. “It does not serve the global efforts to curb the spread of the virus”, he added.

Dr. Tedros said that producing countries pledged to provide one billion doses of the vaccines, 15 per cent of that commitment has so far been met. Though small in proportion, this percentage is considered a positive indicator that serves the common interest and fuels international solidarity.

Asked about a third dose option undertaken by some countries as a booster to some age groups, Dr. Tedros said: “It is doesn’t help to give a third, booster dose, to some people in one part of the world, when others do not even have access to the first dose.”

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation underscored the significance of taking two doses of coronavirus vaccines. He called up all countries to give the third, booster dose, only to people of low immunity.

The WHO made it clear right from the beginning that it is highly necessary to administer the vaccines to segments at risk of infection, including health workers and certain age groups, said Dr. Tedros, who expressed his deep regret to see that some countries vaccinate age groups not really at risk as described by the WHO. This, he stressed, does not serve global solidarity and international efforts to combat the pandemic.