WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has revealed that the end to the COVID-19 pandemic is possible anytime the world wants to end it as the solutions are now available.
Addressing the WTO – WHO High Level Dialogue: Expanding COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacture To Promote Equitable Access, the DG said the tools to end the COVID-19 pandemic are now available.
“It (the pandemic) will end when the world chooses to end it, because the solutions are in our hands. We have all the tools we need: proven public health and social measures; rapid and accurate diagnostics; effective therapeutics including oxygen; and of course, powerful vaccines,” Dr Tedros said.
In spite of this development, he said the world is still in the early stages of another wave of infections and deaths.
“The Delta variant is wreaking havoc around the world. Between now and when we finish our discussion today, more than 1500 people will die from COVID-19. How can this be, 19 months into the pandemic, and 7 months since the first vaccines were approved?” Tedros said.
He described the shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines as responsible for the creation of a two-track pandemic: the haves are opening up, while the have-nots are locking down.
“Over 3.5 billion vaccines have been distributed globally, but more than 75 percent of those have gone to just ten countries,” the WHO DG said.
According to him, vaccine inequity is not only a moral failure, it is also epidemiologically and economically self-defeating.
“Of course, vaccines alone cannot solve the pandemic. Rapid diagnostics and life- saving therapeutics are also vital,” he said.
In conjunction with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the WHO has set global targets are to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of every country by September, at least 40% by the end of the year, and 70% by mid-next year.
“These are the critical milestones we must reach together to end the pandemic. We must spare no effort to increase vaccine supply for lower-income countries. We need to dramatically scale up the number of vaccines being produced. This can be done by removing the barriers to scaling up manufacturing, including through technology transfer, freeing up supply chains, and IP waivers,” he added.