‘No silver bullet’ to combat COVID-19, says UN health agency head

There is “no silver bullet” to combat COVID-19, the head of the UN health agency told journalists adding, “and there might never be”.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Emergency Committee on COVID-19 met July, 31 to review the current coronavirus pandemic at what chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called “a sobering moment”.

At a regular press briefing on August 3, he recalled that when the Emergency Committee on COVID-19 met three months ago, WHO had received reports of three million COVID-19 cases and more than 200,000 deaths.

“Since then”, he updated, “the number of cases has increased more than five-fold to 17.5 million, and the number of deaths has more than tripled, to 680,000”.

In addition to the direct toll of the virus, the Committee noted the impact disrupted services is having on a range of other diseases, which are compounding reduced immunization coverage, cancer screening and care, and mental health services.

And on top of the health impact, COVID-19 is causing social, economic, and political damage, according to the WHO official.

The Committee suggested a range of proposals for countries to bring the virus under control, including enhanced political commitment and leadership for national strategies and localized response activities driven by science, data, and experience.

They also acknowledged that Member States have “tough choices” to make to turn the epidemic around.

While recognizing that “it’s not easy”, the WHO chief maintained that “when leaders step up and work intensely with their populations”, the disease can be “brought under control”.

“It’s never too late to turn this pandemic around”, Mr. Tedros upheld, adding that “if we act together today”, we can save lives and livelihoods.

The Committee recommended that countries engage in the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, participate in relevant clinical trials, and prepare for safe and effective therapeutics and vaccine introduction, the WHO Director-General told reporters.

He also informed them that some vaccines are currently in phase three clinical trials, sharing his hope of having “a number of effective vaccines”.

“For now”, Mr. Tedros explained, “stopping outbreaks comes down to the basics of public health and disease control”, including testing, isolating, and treating patients, along with tracing and quarantining their contacts.

Meanwhile, individuals must keep physical distance, wearing a mask, clean their hands regularly, and cough safely away from others.

Original source: UN News
Published on 3 August 2020