War in Ukraine could make the Covid-19 pandemic worse -WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is concerned the war in Ukraine could worsen the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the UN health body, it is trying to do more to “limit the spread of infectious diseases as there’s significant risk there will be more severe disease and death due to low vaccination rates in Ukraine, as well as among the more than 2 million who’ve fled the country to surrounding areas — regions also with low vaccination rates.”

According to Our World in Data, Ukraine’s Covid-19 vaccination rate is around 34%, while neighboring Moldova’s is around 29%.

There has been a total of 791,021 new cases of Covid-19 and 8,012 new deaths in Ukraine and in surrounding countries between March 3 and 9, a WHO situation report published on Sunday March 13, said.

The WHO has previously called for the war to stop and blamed Russia for bringing more suffering to the Ukranian people and the world.