UNITED NATIONS – The roll-out of coronavirus vaccines to fight the pandemicwill not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus, the World HealthOrganization (WHO) has warned.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at theregular Geneva briefing on Friday that progress on vaccines, in recentdays, “gives us all a lift, and we can now start to see the light at theend of the tunnel.”
He praised the United Kingdom’s emergency authorization for thePfizer/BioNTech rollout which is due to begin next week, describing it as“an important scientific step for the world”.
“However, WHO is concerned that there is a growing perception that thepandemic is over”, he said, noting from the European experience ofsuccessful lockdowns followed by relaxation, that “as these measures arelifted, it’s important that people should continue to follow national andlocal measures to ensure that cases do not rebound.
“Even as vaccines are rolled out, people will need to keep adhering topublic health measures so that everyone is protected”, said Tedros.
“We know it’s been a hard year and people are tired, but in hospitals thatare running at, or over, capacity; it’s the hardest it can possibly be”,said the WHO chief, making a personal appeal for everyone everywhere, to becareful, think of health workers, and “act for the greater good”.
“The pandemic still has a long a way to run and decisions made by leadersand citizens in the coming days will determine both the course of the virusin the short term, and when this pandemic will ultimately end”, he added.
With the first inoculations due to be given in just a few days’ time, hestressed the importance of equitable distribution.
In the first phase of the rollout, sufficient doses will be provided tocover health and social care workers, said Tedros.
“As supply increases, vaccines will be rolled out to cover 20 percent ofthe population of participating countries and economies, which will ensurefurther high-risk groups are covered. The payoff from this will be huge.”
New research by the Eurasia Group has found that the economic benefits of aglobal equitable vaccine solution alone for just 10 high-income countries,would be at least US $153 billion in 2020-21, rising to US $466 billion USdollars by 2025, Tedros told reporters.“Equitable distribution is the right choice and the smart choice”, the WHOchief concluded.