WHO URGES FAIR VACCINE DISTRIBUTION TO ALL

Wed 30 December 2020:

The head of the World Health Organization, marking a year since the first cases of the novel coronavirus were reported by China, urged countries to ensure that vaccines are made available to people at risk everywhere, not just in rich nations.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, appealed for $4 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in lower and middle-income countries through the COVAX vaccine facility.

“This is the challenge we must rise to in the New Year,” Tedros said in a video message issued a day before the first anniversary of China reporting the first cases of pneumonia of unknown origin to the UN health agency.

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. However, Beijing has denied that China is the origin of the deadly disease, which has affected over 81.9 million people worldwide. More than 1.78 million people have died from the virus while over 46 million have recovered.