’Coronavirus not tired, people may be’: WHO chief Tedros urges vigilance
- 'We may be tired of Covid-19 but it is not tired of us. European countries are struggling but the virus has not changed significantly, nor the measures to stop it,' Dr Tedros said
World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the people are becoming weary of the novel coronavirus pandemic but should remain vigilant and continue to take precautions while the world awaits a vaccine.
"We may be tired of COVID-19 but it is not tired of us. European countries are struggling but the virus has not changed significantly, nor the measures to stop it," Dr Tedros told the Paris Peace Forum.
Eleven months into the pandemic that has infected 53,090,778, killed 1,299,400 people, battered the world's economy and turned daily lives upside down, he said relying on promising but as-yet unproven vaccines was a risky bet.
With coronavirus resurgence
A recent resurgence in Covid-19 infections has led many countries to adopt new lockdown measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus and protect their creaking healthcare systems.
"A vaccine is needed urgently, but we cannot wait for a vaccine and put all our eggs in one basket," Tedros said on Thursday, repeating a call for any COVID-19 vaccine to be shared fairly with poor countries.
Earlier this week, Pfizer said that its experimental coronavirus vaccine had been more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE have said no serious safety concerns were found so far and expect to seek US emergency use authorisation this month, raising the chance of a regulatory decision as soon as December.
With agency inputs
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First Published:13 Nov 2020, 04:34 PM IST
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