[ad_1]
A vaccine against COVID-19 could be ready by the end of the year, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for solidarity and political commitment from all leaders to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines when available.
“We will need vaccines and there is hope that by the end of this year we can have a vaccine. There is hope,” Tedros said in his final remarks to the WHO Executive Board, without giving further details.
Nine experimental vaccines are in the pipeline of the WHO COVAX global vaccine facility that aims to distribute 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.
The two-day board meeting, which examined the global response to the pandemic, heard calls from countries including Germany, Britain and Australia for reforms to strengthen the UN agency.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has vigorously criticized the WHO’s role in the crisis, accusing it of being too close to China and not doing enough to question Beijing’s actions late last year, when the virus first appeared in Wuhan.
Tedros has rejected the suggestions, saying his agency has kept the world informed.
Three independent panels that reviewed WHO’s performance, including its 2005 International Health Regulations, which set guidelines on travel and trade restrictions imposed during health emergencies, provided updates on their work.
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, met for the first time last month.
“We hope to get the real lessons that we can implement and prevent the same thing from happening,” said Tedros. “But I would like to assure you that WHO is ready to learn from this and change this organization.
“During our transformation we promised this, we promised to keep change a constant,” he said, referring to his program since he took command in 2017.
[ad_2]
