First Thing: WHO chief urges action to tackle ‘devastating’ long Covid

Calls for sustained efforts to help people experiencing prolonged suffering'. Plus, Saudi Arabia to face consequences

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Good morning.

The head of the World Health Organization has urged countries to launch immediate and sustained efforts to tackle the very serious" crisis of long Covid, which is causing prolonged suffering" for tens of millions of people.

The Ghebreyesus long Covid plan. Provide immediate access to antivirals to patients at high risk of serious disease, investment in research, support patients' physical and mental health, ensure financial support, equitable access to Covid tests and vaccines, and multidisciplinary care.

Lockdown babies slower to meet some milestones. Babies born during the first lockdown met fewer developmental milestones at the age of one compared with those born before the pandemic - although they may have been faster to crawl, a study suggests.

The world risks Armageddon'. Last week Biden invoked the biblical final reckoning between good and evil in unusually direct remarks about the dangers posed by Putin's thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons to assist Russia's faltering attempt to take over swathes of Ukraine.

Elon Musk rejects claim he talked to Putin about Ukraine. The Tesla boss has denied a report that he spoke to the Russian president, including about the potential for using nuclear weapons, before floating a peace plan that suggested Ukraine cede territory to Russia.

Midterm oil prices. The move to cut oil production comes just weeks before a critical midterm election that could hinge on how much American consumers are paying at the pumps.