LAHORE MIRROR (Monitoring Desk)– A senior World Health Organization official said on Tuesday that high levels of transmission of the coronavirus among unvaccinated people, such as in North Korea, creates a higher risk of new variants.
The isolated country, a WHO member, is grappling with its first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak, fuelling concerns over a major crisis due to a lack of vaccines and medical infrastructure.
“WHO has repeatedly said that where you have unchecked transmission, there is always a higher risk of new variants emerging,” he said.
At the same press briefing, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said he was “deeply concerned” about the spreading virus among an unvaccinated population with many underlying conditions.
Asked about how the WHO would respond, Ryan said that the body was ready to help but had no power to interfere in a sovereign country.
SOURCE: REUTERS