UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, Wednesday warned that vaccines alone cannot defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guterres issued the warning at a news conference in New York on Wednesday.
“Many pin their hopes on a vaccine, but let us be clear there is no panacea in a pandemic.
“A vaccine alone cannot solve this crisis; certainly not in the near term,” UN Chief told newsmen.
The warning comes as the world eagerly awaits a vaccine to defeat the pandemic, which Guterres said had reached the “grimmest of milestones”.
As of Wednesday, there are over 29.4 million confirmed cases, including 931,321 deaths.
Guterres also suggested the massive expansion of “new and existing tools that can respond to new cases and provide vital treatment to suppress transmission, especially over the next 12 months.
“But starting now, a vaccine must be seen as a global public good because COVID-19 respects no borders.
“The world needs a vaccine to be affordable and available to all. A people’s vaccine.
“That means a quantum leap in funding for the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX Facility,” the UN Chief added.
