“This week, we crossed the tragic milestone of 1 million reported deaths so far this year,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.

“We cannot say we are learning to live with COVID-19 when 1 million people have died with COVID-19 this year alone, when we are two-and-a-half years into the pandemic and have all the tools necessary to prevent these deaths,” Ghebreyesus added.

He also urged all governments to strengthen their efforts to vaccinate all health workers, older people and others at the highest risk, on the way to 70% vaccine coverage for the whole population.

About 6.45 million deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization since the virus was first detected in China in late 2019. (ILKHA)