WHO Cautions That ‘Vaccines Not Enough to Stop Pandemic’

Although the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines appear to be a major pointer towards defeating the pandemic, WHO has warned that vaccines alone cannot win the fight against the virus.

Reacting to the development, the Director-General, WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus on Monday said vaccine would not by itself stop the pandemic.

He said: “A vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them.  A vaccine on its own will not end the pandemic.”

The WHO’s figures for Saturday showed that 660,905 COVID-19 cases were reported to the UN health agency in a single day, setting a new high watermark.

That number, and the 645,410 registered on Friday, surpassed the previous daily record high of 614,013 recorded on November 7.

Tedros said that supplies of the vaccine would initially be restricted, with “health workers, older people and other at-risk populations prioritized. That will hopefully reduce the number of deaths and enable the health systems to cope.”

But he warned: “That will still leave the virus with a lot of room to move. Surveillance will need to continue, people will still need to be tested, isolated, and cared for, contacts will still need to be traced and individuals will still need to be cared for.”

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