With the Americas still the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on the region’s indigenous people is of deep concern.
More than 70,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths were reported among this population as of 6 July, according to the UN agency. There have been at least six cases among the Nahua people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon, the latest information has revealed.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that because indigenous people are among the world’s poorest and most vulnerable groups, they are especially at risk of contracting the disease.
“Like other vulnerable groups, indigenous peoples face many challenges. This includes a lack of political representation, economic marginalization and lack of access to health, education and social services”, he said, speaking from Geneva during the regular crisis update.
“Indigenous peoples often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its severe outcomes.”
WHO also used the briefing to underline the importance of contact tracing to suppress COVID-19 transmission among indigenous communities and the population at large. The process is essential as more countries begin to re-open after lifting lockdown measures.
WHO has welcomed promising news about a potential vaccine against COVID-19, as research into treatments in multiple countries, continues.
An experimental vaccine developed by Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca appears safe and triggers an immune response, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet.
“It is good news”, said Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, though he cautioned that “the data is very new”.
Dr. Ryan said the vaccine was given to 1,000 healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years. None appeared to suffer any serious adverse effects, other than chills, muscle aches and headaches, which were expected.
“But again, there is a long way to go”, he said. “These are phase one studies. We now need to move into large-scale, real-world trials, but it is good to see more data and more products moving into this very important phase of vaccine discovery.”
Dr. Ryan reported that 23 COVID-19 candidate vaccines are currently in clinical development.
Original source: UN News
Published on 20 July 2020
