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A million people have died from COVID-19 in 2022: WHO
CGTN
FILE PIC: Caskets of people who died from COVID in Italy. /AFP

FILE PIC: Caskets of people who died from COVID in Italy. /AFP

The World Health Organization announced Thursday that a million people had died from the coronavirus pandemic in 2022, calling it a "tragic milestone" when all the tools existed to prevent deaths.

Nearly 6.45 million deaths have been reported to the the UN health agency since the virus was first detected in China in late 2019.

But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus questioned whether the world was really on top of the pandemic, this far in.

"This week, we crossed the tragic milestone of one million reported deaths so far this year," he told a press conference.

"We cannot say we are learning to live with COVID-19 when one million people have died with the virus this year alone, when we are two-and-a-half years into the pandemic and have all the tools necessary to prevent these deaths.

"We ask all governments to strengthen their efforts to vaccinate all health workers, older people and others at the highest risk, on the way to 70 percent vaccine coverage for the whole population."

Tedros wanted all countries to have vaccinated 70 percent of their populations by the end of June.

But 136 countries failed to reach the target, of which 66 still had coverage below 40 percent.

"It is pleasing to see that some countries with the lowest vaccination rates are now making up ground, especially in Africa," Tedros said Thursday.

He said only 10 countries had less than 10 percent coverage, most of which were facing humanitarian emergencies.

(With input from agencies)

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