United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed the hope that a COVID-19 vaccine will be seen as a global public good, or a people's vaccine.
"COVID-19 is the greatest public health crisis of our generation. Right now, there is no vaccine. As we work together to develop one, there is an important lesson we need to understand. A vaccine, by itself, is not enough. We need global solidarity to ensure that every person, everywhere, has access," Guterres said at a virtual global vaccine summit.
"A COVID-19 vaccine must be seen as a global public good, a people's vaccine, which a growing number of world leaders are calling for," he added.
At the summit, Guterres called on participants to make three key commitments: find safe ways to continue delivering vaccinations, even as COVID-19 spreads; use the networks of vaccine-delivery to deliver a range of other primary health services; make sure a COVID-19 vaccine reaches everyone when it becomes available.
"Diseases know no borders. That is why a fully-funded GAVI (Vaccine Alliance) will be critical to ensure we continue the progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals," said Guterres.
Twenty million children are missing their full complement of vaccines, and one in five has received no vaccines at all, he noted.
Under the shadow of COVID-19, their plight is even more desperate, he added, warning that the gaps in global vaccine delivery could grow wider.
