COVID-19 vaccine must be affordable and available to all, UN chief

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic continues to top a long list of global concerns, the UN chief told journalists noting that “the grimmest of milestones” is upon us.

“The outbreak remains out of control”, Secretary-General António Guterres declared in his press conference ahead of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Week, noting that soon one million lives will be “lost to the virus”.

Recognizing that many pin their hopes on a vaccine, he said, “let’s be clear: there is no panacea in a pandemic”.

“A vaccine alone cannot solve this crisis, certainly not in the near term”, stressed the world’s top diplomat. “We need to massively expand new and existing tools that can respond to new cases and provide vital treatment to suppress transmission and save lives, especially over the next 12 months”.

He emphasized that because the virus “respects no borders”, a vaccine must be seen as “a global public good”, affordable and available to all, but it requires “a quantum leap in funding”.

Moreover, people must be willing to be vaccinated, but a proliferation of misinformation on vaccines is fueling vaccine-hesitancy, and igniting wild conspiracy theories, noted the UN chief.

He spoke of “alarming reports” that large populations in various countries are reluctant, or outright refusing, to take a new coronavirus vaccine.

“In the face of this lethal disease, we must do our utmost to halt deadly misinformation”, affirmed the Secretary-General.

Mr. Guterres called for a global ceasefire back in March, recognizing the coronavirus as “the number one global security threat in our world today”.

The UN chief recapped that “hopeful new steps toward peace” have been taken, from Afghanistan to Sudan, and a slowdown in fighting in Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and elsewhere, had created an opportunity for diplomacy.

In Yemen, “we are pressing for a ceasefire” he said, and even though “distrust is deep” across these and other crises, “we must persevere”.

“We must seize every opening in the weeks ahead and make a new collective push for peace”, upheld the Secretary-General.

Original source: UN News