Pandemic will end when world chooses to end it, says WHO chief

MOSCOW: The coronavirus pandemic will come to an end when all the countries start using the available health tools effectively, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says.

"The pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it. It is in our hands. We have all the tools we need: effective public health tools and effective medical tools. But the world has not used those tools well. With almost 50,000 deaths a week, the pandemic is far from over," Sputnik reported Dr Tedros as saying on Sunday, in his address at the World Health Summit in Berlin.

The WHO chief called on G20 countries that have already vaccinated 40 per cent of their population to actively engage in the COVAX mechanism, as well as the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

On Sunday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the G20 countries to help collect US$8 billion to ensure a fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world.

Speaking at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Guterres said that earlier in October, he joined the WHO chief to launch a global strategy for COVID-19 vaccination, which suggests a credible and cost-effective plan to deliver vaccines to 40 per cent of people in all countries by the end of this year and 70 per cent by mid-2022.

-- BERNAMA