20 mga bansa, namamalaging below 10% ang COVID-19 jab rate – WHO experts

A health worker prepares a jab of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the Covid-19 coronavirus during a vaccination drive for children in the age group of 12-15 years at an educational institution in Colombo on January 7, 2022.AFP / Ishara S. KODIKARA

Ikinalungkot ng World Health Organizarion (WHO) na dalawampung mga bansa na karamihan ay sa Africa, ang hindi pa rin nakapagbakuna laban sa Covid-19 kahit man lang 10 percent ng kanilang populasyon.

Ayon sa Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) . . . “The speed of the Covid jab rollout had been unprecedented”.

Gayunman ayon kay Kate O’Brien, WHO vaccine chief, 20 mga bansa ang hindi pa rin naaabot ang 10-percent immunisation rate.

Aniya . . . “These are countries that are working really hard to advance their programmes. Supply is no longer the issue. The legacy of all the supply constraint from 2021 — the effects of that (are) still being felt.’

Sinabi pa ng SAGE, na ang vaccination coverage sa kalipunan ng mga grupong pinakalantad na dapuan ng severe Covid-19 disease, ay hindi sapat para ibigay ang proteksiyong kanilang kinakailangan. Ang health worker coverage ay nasa 65 percent sa kabuuan.

Ayon kay O’Brien . . . “That’s certainly a very, very strong position to be in, but we’re really carrying the message forward that it needs to be 100 percent.”

Ang coverage sa mga lampas edad 60 ay 69 percent — kahit na ang bilang ay bumaba sa 24 na porsyento sa ilang mga rehiyon ng mundo.

Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, walong Covid-19 vaccines at versions na ang inaprubahan ng WHO para gamitin sa pagbabakuna sa pamamagitan ng emergency use listing (EUL) status.

Ayon sa SAGE . . . ‘Available data in their effectiveness against the Omicron variant of Covid-19 generally showed waning immunity against infection but high and more sustained effectiveness against severe disease and death — especially after booster doses. However, data remain very limited for some of the WHO EUL vaccines in their performance against Omicron.”

Ang WHO EUL-approved vaccines ay yaong gawa ng Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Bharat Biotech at Novavax.

Ani O’Brien . . . “SAGE had data on the first five of those, but for some it had a lot more evidence than others. Studies were only just starting to come out on the Sinovac jab. We don’t have real-world evidence in the Omicron era for other products that are WHO EUL.”

Ang Covax facility, na itinatag para matiyak na makakukuha ng Covid-19 vaccines ang 92 pinakamahihiraop na mga bansa na ang gugol ay babalikatin ng donors, ay nakapagdala na ng 1.42 billion vaccine doses sa 145 mga teritoryo ayon sa UNICEF, na siyang nangangasiwa sa logistics.

Sinabi ng SAGE, na ang Covax ay may sapat na supply para sa nabanggit na mga bansa upang maabot ang 70-percent coverage target ng WHO pagdating ng June. Nguni’t ang maaari lamang nitong ipadala ay ang WHO EUL vaccines.

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