‘Pandemic is not yet over’

We’re vaxxed: Pikachu holding the hands of Nurkhayla Delisya Abdul Hafiz (left) and Muhammad Ilham Harith Roslan after both eight-year-olds were vaccinated at the SK Putrajaya Precinct 11 (3) PPV in Putrajaya under the PICKids programme. — Bernama

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) says in some countries, high vaccination coverage and the lower severity of the Omicron variant are driving a false narrative that the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

Its director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that at the same time, low vaccination coverage and low testing rates in other countries were creating the ideal conditions for new variants to emerge.