WHO warns the world a new pandemic is an ‘evolutionary certainty’

The WHO has painted a bleak picture in an annual address, chillingly reminding the world to be prepared for an “evolutionary certainty”.

The director-general of the World Health Organisation has painted a bleak picture for life beyond coronavirus, warning the world against getting complacent as we fight the surge of COVID-19.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the potential of an even deadlier virus emerging is an “evolutionary certainty”.

In an annual address to the UN‘s assembly of health ministers from its 194 member states, Mr Ghebreyesus said COVID-19 could be just a taster for the future of worldwide airborne viruses.

“Make no mistake, this will not be the last time the world faces the threat of pandemic,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “It’s an evolutionary certainty that there will be another virus with the potential to be more transmittable and more deadly than this one.”

While global death rates are slowly beginning to fall, Mr Ghebreyesus says the planet is still “in a fragile situation“ and that no nation is “out of the woods, no matter its vaccination rate”.

‘It’s an evolutionary certainty that there will be another virus with the potential to be more transmittable and more deadly than this one.’

Having seen the incredible side-effects to democracy, human discourse and the world economy a global pandemic can produce, Mr Ghebreyesus remains tentative for the future, especially with the potential for a disease more devastating than COVID-19 emerging.

He went on to warn countries against the danger of low vaccination rates, referring the worst performing countries as having a “vaccine apartheid“.

Just 10 countries have administered over 75 per cent of their vaccine doses, following a study revealing just under one third of Australians were hesitant to get the jab.

Mr Ghebreyesus hailed the sacrifices made by healthcare workers around the world, revealing the true toll the pandemic has had on hospitals since the emergence of the coronavirus.

“For almost 18 months, health and care workers all over the world have stood in the breach between life and death,” he said.

NEW DELHI, INDIA - MAY 21: Relatives of a Covid-19 victim in PPE coveralls perform the last rites at Nigambodh Ghat crematorium, on May 21, 2021 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

“Many have themselves become infected, and while reporting is scant, we estimate that at least 115,000 health and care workers have paid the ultimate price in the service of others.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is being perpetuated by a scandalous inequity in vaccine distribution.”

Mr Ghebreyesus went on to reveal an alarming statistic from the WHO’s database, explaining how the cataclysmic outbreak in India last month contributed to the world’s infection rates.

“The world remains in a very dangerous situation,” he said.

”As of today, more cases have been reported so far this year than in the whole of 2020. On current trends, the number of deaths will overtake last year`s total within the next three weeks. This is very tragic.”