WHO chief vows vaccine for all countries

Director-General of the World Health Organization has assured that WHO will not rest until all countries across the world have access to the coronavirus vaccine.

Geneva: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the organisation "will not rest" until all countries across the world have access to the coronavirus vaccine.

In a conference marking one year since the WHO was first informed about the virus by scientist in China, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the "incredible scientific achievement" which has seen a vaccine created and distributed to countries across the world in under a year.

"This is fantastic but WHO will not rest until those in need everywhere in all countries have access to the new vaccines and are protected," he said.

Regulatory authorities in Europe, the UK and the US along with several other nations have approved the emergency use of a vaccine created by U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German firm BioNTech.

Vaccination programmes in these countries have already begun with health care workers and care home residents being prioritised in this first phase.

Tedros warned there would be new challenges in combating the virus in 2021, alluding to the possibility of new variants being discovered and residents suffering from lockdown fatigue.

British authorities have already reported a new fast-spreading variant which is causing case numbers to surge despite tough restrictions.

Tedros said WHO was working with scientist to assess the new variant and see if it had any potential impact on tests, treatments and vaccines.

He also encouraged other nations to continue testing in order to discover any new variants of the virus and stressed that counties should not be punished for sharing these results.

AP