The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday called for global solidarity in the launch of any future coronavirus vaccine, as the number of cases skyrocketed around the world.
In a video speech at the opening of the three-day World Health Summit in Berlin, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the only way to recover from the pandemic was together and ensuring that the poorest countries had fair access to a vaccine.
“It is natural for countries to want to protect their own citizens first, but if we have an effective vaccine, we must also use it effectively. And the best way to do that is to vaccinate some people in all countries rather than all people in some countries, ”he said.
“Let me be clear: Vaccine nationalism will prolong the pandemic, not shorten it.”
Scientists around the world are rushing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, which has killed more than 1.1 million people.
Several dozen candidate vaccines are currently being tested in clinical trials, ten of which are in the most advanced stage of “phase 3” involving tens of thousands of volunteers.
The European Union, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and many other nations have already placed large orders from companies involved in developing the most promising vaccines.
But there is growing concern that countries with smaller portfolios may be left at the bottom of the queue.
The WHO has launched an international scheme known as Covax to help ensure equitable access to strokes, but has struggled to raise the necessary funds.
‘The biggest crisis’
The WHO on Sunday reported a third consecutive day of record new infections around the world, calling on countries to take more steps to curb the spread of the disease.
The agency’s figures showed that 465,319 cases were reported for Saturday alone, half of them in Europe.
“This is a dangerous time for many countries in the Northern Hemisphere as cases increase,” Tedros said.
But he added that people were not powerless against the virus, emphasizing the importance of social distancing, washing hands and gathering outdoors rather than indoors.
“Over and over again we have seen that taking the right actions quickly means that the outbreak can be managed.”
Speaking at the same summit, held online this year, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in his video message, called the pandemic “the greatest crisis of our time.”
“We need global solidarity every step of the way,” he said, echoing the call for developed countries to support those with fewer resources.
“A vaccine must be a global public good,” Guterres said.
“Vaccines, tests and therapies are more than life savers. They are savers of the economy and savers of society ”.
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