falling at the very same time. we just looked and new vaccine doses fell 57% in the last month. and new booster doses are down 65%. and i m wondering, that all adds up to what in this moment, do you think? i think it s leaving us in a really bad place. i think we are heading it s like good news and bad news at the same time, right? you love seeing cases plummet, but then there s the but. and we re threading this needle of trying to give people hope, saying the omicron variant did turn out to be a little more mild. no guarantee the next variant is going to be just as mild, right? and we sort of want to give people hope but at the same time we need to be careful and every time, kate, here and every other country around the world, it s the reality of this virus. and the world health organization has been speaking to that, just warning that no vaccination coverage and low testing rates in other countries are creating ideal conditions for a new variant to emerge.
future. this change is possible because widespread vaccination coverage and better treatments have reduced the direct harms of the virus and as a result using restrictions to suppress infection is no longer as necessary as it once was and given the wider harms caused by protective measures, it is no longer as justifiable either. the frame may make clear we will seek to rely less on legal imposed measures and more on vaccines, treatments and sensible adaptations and good public health behaviours. as a priority, we will continue to ensure the maximum possible availability and uptake of vaccination in line with expert advice. while the success of the vaccination programme has exceeded our expectations, there are today still more than 600,000 people over 18 who have had a second dose not yet a third or a booster dose. there is more still to do to maximise uptake. we will also continue to
so the bottom line here is this pandemic is really not over despite us really, really wanting it to be. and the fact that omicron is circulating at such an intense level means it hasn t gone away. this virus has a lot of room to spread. it is wise for us the make sure we not only try to increase vaccination coverage, which is saving lives around the world because deaths are decreasing around the world, we still have to take measures to reduce the spread. . these mask and vaccine mandates that have been lifted, have they been lifted too early? . well, we recommend a combination of approaches. there is no one solution that s going to end this pandemic. so increasing vaccination coverage, and in particular making sure that vaccines are reaching those who are most at risk, people over 60 years old, people with underlying conditions, immunocompromised individuals. it is critical to saving lives now. we have to do other measures.
we will continue to see people die unnecessarily among people who are not vaccinated. and i think that s the key right now. even in countries with high levels of vaccination coverage, look at the population that is being missed. who is being missed by those vaccine campaigns. in particular, who among the over 60s, who among those with underlying conditions are being missed. and make sure the campaigns reach those individuals. this is still a global problem requiring global solutions. we have to fight for vaccine access in every country all over the world. we cannot end the pandemic in some countries and not others. we do expect to see flare-ups and outbreaks where measures are lifted and expect to see further deaths among those not vaccinated. maria, really appreciate you
The Ministry of Health (MoH), UNICEF and WHO have launched the ‘Safe Journeys’ campaign, aiming at redoubling and reinforcing the importance of complying with COVID-19 preventive practices, including vaccination.