UNITED NATIONS, :The roll-out of coronavirus vaccines to fight the pandemic will not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at the regular Geneva briefing on Friday that progress on vaccines, in recent days, \u201cgives us all a lift, and we can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He praised the United Kingdom\u2019s emergency authorization for the Pfizer\/BioNTech rollout which is due to begin next week, describing it as \u201can important scientific step for the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, WHO is concerned that there is a growing perception that the pandemic is over\u201d, he said, noting from the European experience of successful lockdowns followed by relaxation, that \u201cas these measures are lifted, it\u2019s important that people should continue to follow national and local measures to ensure that cases do not rebound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven as vaccines are rolled out, people will need to keep adhering to public health measures so that everyone is protected\u201d, said Tedros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know it\u2019s been a hard year and people are tired, but in hospitals that are running at, or over, capacity; it\u2019s the hardest it can possibly be\u201d, said the WHO chief, making a personal appeal for everyone everywhere, to be careful, think of health workers, and \u201cact for the greater good\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pandemic still has a long a way to run and decisions made by leaders and citizens in the coming days will determine both the course of the virus in the short term, and when this pandemic will ultimately end\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the first inoculations due to be given in just a few days\u2019 time, he stressed the importance of equitable distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first phase of the rollout, sufficient doses will be provided to cover health and social care workers, said Tedros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs supply increases, vaccines will be rolled out to cover 20 percent of the population of participating countries and economies, which will ensure further high-risk groups are covered. The payoff from this will be huge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New research by the Eurasia Group has found that the economic benefits of a global 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 US dollars by 2025, Tedros told reporters.
\u201cEquitable distribution is the right choice and the smart choice\u201d, the WHO chief concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, :The roll-out of coronavirus vaccines to fight the pandemic will not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at the regular Geneva briefing on Friday that progress on vaccines, in […]<\/p>\n
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