Covid 19 vaccine;initial supply to health workers,older people
CNM Health Desk
A vaccine on its own will not end the pandemic-says WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.He was addressing the 147th session of the WHO Executive Board , virtually.
“Initially, supply will be limited, so health workers, older people and other at-risk populations will be prioritized.That will hopefully reduce the number of deaths and enable health systems to cope.”
“But that will still leave the virus with a lot of room to move.Surveillance will need to continue;
WHO remains committed to supporting countries in every scenario.Last week we had encouraging news about vaccines.
And commitments to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator have now reached more than 5 billion U.S. dollars, thanks to new contributions from France, Spain, the Republic of Korea, the European Commission and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced at the Paris Peace Forum.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that a vaccine would be essential for bringing the pandemic under control, which is why WHO proposed the ACT Accelerator.
But it’s important to emphasise that a vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them.”
“People will still need to be tested, isolated and cared for;
Contacts will still need to be traced and quarantined;
Communities will still need to be engaged, and individuals will still need to be careful.
We still have a long road to travel, and you as our Executive Board have a vital role to play-Tedros added.”-he said.
