It is a tragedy that children with cancer die in Mexico due to lack of medicines: WHO
GENEVA (apro).- The emergency director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Michael Ryan, stated that it is a tragedy that children with cancer die in Mexico due to lack of treatment or medications.
Regarding the lack of medicines and treatments for cancer in the country's public hospitals, Ryan highlighted that in various parts of the world, covid-19 has revealed “huge inequalities in the system,” with great differences between private and public health services. , which he considered “very unfair.”
Michael Ryan pointed out that throughout the planet the WHO has seen the impact on oncology services, both in outpatients and those inside hospitals for essential treatment.
Regarding the development of the pandemic that continues to rise in the country, Ryan acknowledged that "the situation in Mexico continues to be difficult with more than 83 thousand deaths."
However, he praised that the Ministry of Health has adjusted the figures regarding cases and deaths, which in his view is a very positive gesture.
“Mexico needs to be praised for its transparency,” Ryan said of the new statistics that count people who meet the operational definition of a suspected case of a viral respiratory illness without a laboratory sample and have had contact in the 14 days before onset of symptoms with a confirmed case or death.
The Irish expert regretted that health personnel, 60% women, have been greatly affected in the country by the pandemic and considered it of great importance to protect health personnel who continue on the front line fighting the virus.
“Clearly protecting health personnel is really important,” he indicated.
On a positive note, Ryan celebrated the traffic light system in the country and encourages the government to continue with that system.
Herd immunity is not an option: Tedros
For his part, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that letting the virus circulate freely to achieve so-called herd immunity is not an option in this pandemic.
“Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy to respond to an epidemic, much less a pandemic. “It is scientifically and ethically problematic,” Tedros said.
“Giving free rein to a dangerous virus, about which not everything is understood, is simply contrary to ethics.” It is not an option,” she stressed.
Tedros insisted that “the vast majority of people in most countries can contract the virus” and according to WHO estimates, less than 10% of the adult population has been infected.
Tedros also stressed that “most people infected by the virus develop an immune response in the first weeks, but we do not know if this response is lasting or if it varies from one person to the next.”
Sequels worry
Finally, the technical director of the Organization World Health Organization for covid-19, María Van Kerkhove, recalled that more than a million people have died from the virus in the world, but beyond the deaths, the WHO is also concerned about the consequences that the virus has left in some patients.
“We are not only concerned about the cases, hospitalizations or deaths, but also about the long-term impacts that we are beginning to see in people who even had the disease with mild symptoms,” he warned.
“Now we are beginning to see effects on the heart, brain, lungs or mental health,” stressed the expert, who called not to let our guard down and continue with basic care measures, hand hygiene, physical distancing, use of a mask, no attend large events and stay home if there are symptoms of covid or flu.
With PROCESS information:
