COVID tsunami will lead world health systems to collapse: WHO

"Right now, Delta and Omicron are twin threats that are driving up cases to record numbers, which again is leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths. I am highly concerned that Omicron being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta - is leading to a tsunami of cases," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.

"This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse and again disrupting lives and livelihoods," the WHO chief said.

He said the pressure on health systems is not only because of new COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalisation but also because a large number of health workers are getting sick themselves.

"The unvaccinated are many times more at risk of dying from either variant," Ghebreyesus said.

WHO assured to support countries as they look to improve access to COVID-19 tools and catch up with routine immunisation.

"Mental health must also be treated as a core element of our response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," the WHO chief said.

"At the G7 and G20 this year, I challenged leaders to ensure that by the end of this year, countries have vaccinated 40% of their populations and 70% by the middle of 2022," he said.

He said 92 member states, out of 194, missed the 40 percent target.

"This is due to a combination of limited supply going to low-income countries for most of the year and then subsequent vaccines arriving close to expiry and without key parts - like the syringes!"

"And, in the case of about 20 countries, supply chain and distribution issues are also impacting rollouts.40% was doable. It’s not only a moral shame, it cost lives and provided the virus with opportunities to circulate unchecked and mutate," the WHO chief said.

In the year ahead, the WHO called for leaders of government and industry to walk the talk on vaccine equity both by ensuring consistent supply and helping to get vaccinations actually into people.

"Vaccine supply, for now at least, is improving although the emphasis on boosters in rich countries could cause low-income countries to go short again," Ghebreyesus said.

"I call on leaders of rich countries and manufacturers to learn the lessons of Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and now Omicron and work together to reach the 70% vaccination coverage," he added.