‘Vaccines Save Lives,’ WHO Says of Bolsonaro’s Claim that He Can’t ‘Force Anyone’ to Get Vaccinated | Coronavirus

Soumya issued the warning after being asked about the speech by President Jair Bolsonaro, who this week declared that he could not “force anyone to get vaccinated.”

“We have forgotten what smallpox is, we have forgotten what it is to die of measles. … It is thanks to vaccines that we no longer see these diseases,” said WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan.

• It is #FALSE that the government cannot force people to get vaccinated against Covid-19

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanon said vaccines are the only fully effective tools to contain deadly diseases.

“People can learn about how the world used vaccines to decrease mortality in children under five, how they managed to eradicate smallpox. Look at how vaccines have changed the world,” Tedros said. She also recalled how the vaccine managed to contain the Ebola epidemic in Africa recently.

Regarding the coronavirus vaccine, the CEO said there are a number of promising vaccines. “But they will only be used when they are safe and effective, that is what I would like to assure the world,” he said.

“I would like to affirm that the WHO will not approve vaccines that are not effective and safe,” Tedros guaranteed when commenting on Bolsonaro’s speech.

In addition to the vaccines that are in clinical trials and that are already part of the portfolio of the COVAX initiative, the leader of the organization reported that the WHO is studying including new candidates that have shown good results.

“We are discussing 4 other promising vaccines. An additional 9 candidates that are in the early stages of development are being evaluated for inclusion in COVAX,” said the WHO director general.

Blockages can be avoided

This Friday, the WHO said that blockades against the spread of the coronavirus in cities can be avoided if governments and communities strengthen health measures.

“The confinements are a powerful instrument that has caused serious losses in many countries. With the right combination of specific and personalized measures [para conter a pandemia], you can avoid other blockages, “said Tedros.

To avoid further blockages, the entity highlighted as a priority for countries:

• Avoid events that favor the transmission of the coronavirus (such as crowds, closed places, poorly ventilated, etc.)
• Empowering people to protect themselves and others (individual and collective measures against coronavirus, such as washing hands, wearing a mask, sneeze tag, isolation if you have symptoms, etc.)
• Strengthen public health
• Protect people at risk

The organization’s director general said he met with G20 leaders to consciously discuss reopening countries during the pandemic.

“The central theme of the discussion was how together we can reopen societies, economies and borders. This is something that the WHO supports without reservation,” said Tedros.

Mass vaccination only in 2021

Also on Friday, a spokeswoman for the organization said she did not expect a comprehensive vaccination against Covid-19 until mid-2021. She stressed the importance of rigorous controls on the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.

None of the vaccine candidates found in advanced clinical trials has so far shown efficiency “clear signal” at a minimum level of 50% wanted by WHO, spokeswoman Margaret Harris said, according to Reuters.

• SPECIAL: Know the candidate vaccines against Covid-19

“We really don’t expect to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year,” Harris said during a United Nations (UN) briefing in Geneva.

Russia gave regulatory approval for a Covid-19 vaccine, called “Sputnik V,” in August after less than two months of human testing, leading experts to question its effectiveness and safety. At the time, the lack of published studies on Russian tests generated mistrust in the international community.

This Friday the results of the phase 1 and 2 tests of the vaccine were published in the scientific journal “The Lancet”, which is one of the most important in the world. The vaccine had no adverse effects and induced an immune response. Watch the video: