WHO says Covid health emergency may end this year. But there is a big IF...

The worst of the coronavirus pandemic — deaths, hospitalizations and lockdowns — could be over this year, the WHO has said. But there is one big condition. The UN body has said that it's only possible if huge inequities in vaccinations and medicines are addressed quickly.

The head of emergencies at the World Health Organisation Dr Michael Ryan con Tuesday said the world “may never end the virus” because such pandemic viruses “end up becoming part of the ecosystem.”

But he added that “we have a chance to end the public health emergency this year if we do the things that we've been talking about".

Dr Ryan was speaking during a panel discussion on vaccine inequity hosted by the World Economic Forum.

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WHO has slammed the imbalance in Covid-19 vaccinations between rich and poor countries as a catastrophic moral failure. Fewer than 10% of people in lower-income countries have received even one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr Ryan told the virtual gathering that if vaccines and other tools aren't shared fairly, the tragedy of the virus, which has so far killed more than 5.5 million people worldwide, would continue.

Public health officials have warned it is highly unlikely Covid-19 will be eliminated and say it will continue to kill people, though at much lower levels, even after it becomes endemic.