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The WHO warned against complacency amid the launch of the coronavirus vaccine.
Launching vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic will not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
The WHO cautioned against complacency and what it said was a mistaken belief that because vaccines are on the near horizon, the crisis is over.
“Vaccines do not equal zero Covid,” said WHO emergency director Michael Ryan at a virtual press conference.
“Vaccines and vaccination will add an important, important and powerful tool to the set of tools we have. But alone, they will not do the job.”
Britain on Wednesday became the first Western country to approve a vaccine for general use, putting pressure on other countries to quickly follow suit.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said progress in vaccines “encourages all of us and now we can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“However, WHO is concerned that there is a growing perception that the pandemic is over.
“Many places are witnessing very high transmission of the virus, putting enormous pressure on hospitals, intensive care units and healthcare workers.”
Global coronavirus infections topped 65 million on Friday.
The new coronavirus has killed at least 1.5 million people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a count from official sources compiled by AFP.
– ‘Life and death’ –
“The pandemic still has a long way to go and the decisions that leaders and citizens make in the coming days will determine both the short-term course of the virus and when this pandemic will end,” Tedros said.
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical leader of the WHO Covid-19, added that these decisions “can mean life or death for us, life or death for our family.”
According to the WHO overview of candidate vaccines, 51 are currently being tested in humans, 13 of which have reached the final stage of mass testing.
Another 163 candidate vaccines are being developed in laboratories with a view to eventual human trials.
“I have seen vaccines transform the world and change the course of epidemics, and I fully hope that these vaccines and those to come do,” Ryan said.
But he cautioned that people must recognize that the vaccine “will not be with everyone early next year.”
Healthcare workers, the elderly and people with underlying conditions will be given priority, an option that “will eliminate much of the pain from this pandemic. But, alone, it will not end transmission,” Ryan said.
Tedros said he was happy to be vaccinated on camera to help promote public confidence, but that he would not skip the line to do so.
“I’d love to do it,” but “I have to make sure it’s my turn,” he said.
