World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned the countries across the globe for another pandemic. He said countries need to be buckled up by investing more in public health by the time the next pandemic hits them.
While briefing to the media, the WHO chief said, "This will not be the last pandemic."
"History teaches us that outbreaks and pandemics are a fact of life. But when the next pandemic comes, the world must be ready-more ready than it was this time," added Ghebreyesus.
So far, nearly 9 lakh people across the world have succumbed to the pandemic and 2.7 crores have been infected by it.
Earlier, the WHO chief had warned against 'Covid vaccine nationalism' and had urged all the countries to join hands together to develop the vaccine to combat this contagious disease.
"In our inter-connected world, if people in low and middle-income countries miss out on vaccines, the virus will continue to kill and the economic recovery globally will be delayed. So, using vaccines as a global public good is in the national interest of each and every country. Vaccine nationalism will prolong the pandemic, not shorten it," he said.
According to Ghebereyesus, 78 high-income countries had now joined the "COVAX" global vaccine allocation plan. Eventually, the remaining countries would join the plan, bringing the total to 170 counties, which will get the benefit of the coronavirus vaccine. Tedros said, countries joining the plan have guaranteed access to the world's largest portfolio of vaccines.
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The WHO and the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) are leading the COVAX facility, aimed at helping buy and distribute vaccination shots fairly around the world.
Notably, GAVI is bringing together public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for those living in the world’s poorest countries.
However, some countries including the United States have refused to join the COVAX facility as it has already secured their own supplies through bilateral deals.