On Friday, WHO said that the roll-out of vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic will not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus.
The WHO warned against complacency and what it said was an erroneous belief that because vaccines are on the near-horizon, the crisis is over.
In a virtual confrence, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said: “Vaccines do not equal zero Covid. Vaccines and vaccination will add a major, major, powerful tool to the tool kit that we have. But by themselves, they will not do the job.”
Ryan said: “I have seen vaccines transform the world and change the course of epidemics, and I fully expect that these vaccines and the ones that are to come will do that.”
But he warned that people needed to recognize that the vaccine will not be with everyone early next year”
He said: Health workers, the elderly and people with underlying conditions will get priority a choice that will take a lot of the sorrow out of this pandemic. But it will not, by itself, end transmission.
