With the pandemic now in its third year, leaders and experts have repeatedly stated that the world must learn to live with Covid. However, in a caution against reducing guards, WHO chief Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus stated that "we pretend it's not there." "It means we use whatever tool we have to protect ourselves and others," he said.

The deaths linked to Covid reported globally have increased by 35% in the last month, he said in the most recent coronavirus briefing. “We’re all tired of this virus, and tired of the pandemic. But the virus is not tired of us,” the World Health Organization chief further said.

Omicron remains the dominant variant, with the BA.5 sub-variant accounted for more than 90% of sequences in the past month.

In a message to the world, the WHO chief is heard saying in a video shared on his Twitter account: "15,000 people throughout the world lost their lives to Covid." 15,000 cases a week is completely unacceptable when we have all of the tools available to avoid infections and save lives."

“None of us is helpless. Please get vaccinated if you’re not, and get a booster (dose) if you need it. Wear mask and maintain social distancing,” the WHO chief urges in the video. “We cannot live (with the virus) with 15,000 deaths a week. We cannot live with mounting hospitalisations. We can’t live with inequitable access of vaccines,” the world health body chief said in a desperate appeal.

Since the start of the epidemic, the world has reported over 59 crore cases and over 64 lakh deaths. The majority of these cases (nearly 9.3 crore) have been recorded by the United States, followed by India (around 4.4 crore).

As the virus continues to mutate, the WHO has spoken out on many times about uneven vaccine distribution.