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Quadri Yahya
The World Health Organization has given the caveat that Covid-19 booster programme does not give countries a go ahead to slack safety protocol.
WHO gave the warning on Wednesday in a news briefing for the year at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said even when countries are administering programme to start giving the booster doses, it never a reason to not take precautions.
Ghebreyesus said, “No country can boost its way out of the pandemic.
“And boosters cannot be seen as a ticket to go ahead with planned celebrations, without the need for other precautions.”
Health workers had earlier been recommended to ‘use either a respirator or medical mask, in addition to other personal protective equipment (PPE), when entering the room of a patient with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.’
WHO however gave new guidelines to health workers.
“Respirators, which includes masks known as N95, FFP2 and others, should especially be worn in settings with poor ventilation.”
It further reports: “As many health workers across the world are unable to access these items, WHO is urging manufacturers and countries to scale up production, procurement and distribution of both respirators and medical masks.”
“The director-general said all health workers must have all the tools they need to do their jobs, which includes training, PPE, a safe work environment, and vaccines.
“It’s frankly difficult to understand how a year since the first vaccines were administered, three in four health workers in Africa remain unvaccinated,” he said”.
