On the 20th local time, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said at a press conference held in Geneva that the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2021 took at least 3.3 million lives, and now 50,000 people still die directly from the new crown pneumonia every week.
Tedros also said that the data show that the Omiljung variant spreads faster than the Delta strain, and that people who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 are likely to be re-infected with the virus. The epidemic has not only disrupted people's normal lives, but also disrupted screening, treatment and services for other diseases.
Tedros stressed that in 2022 we must end the COVID-19 pandemic. All countries need to invest in preventing future catastrophes of this magnitude and accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
![WHO: The COVID-19 pandemic must be ended by 2022[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)