RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) said it expects the coronavirus pandemic to end in less than two years. “Our hope is to end this pandemic in less than two years,” said the Director-General, pointing to vaccines as the “new tools” to achieve this end.
At Friday’s press conference, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic took two years to end, and highlighted the role that the technological progress can play today.
“Our current situation with more technology, with more connectivity, the virus has a better chance of spreading, of moving quickly,” said the top official. But on the other hand, today “we have the technology and the knowledge to stop it”, he added.
The second wave of outbreaks in several countries worldwide was also addressed in the press conference. “These countries serve as a warning to those who are experiencing a downward trend in cases. Progress does not mean victory. People are still susceptible to the virus,” Adhanom said.
And in a week when much has been said about the Covid vaccine, the Director-General stressed that “the vaccine will be a vital tool, hopefully we will have one as soon as possible, but there is no guarantee that this will happen,” he said, adding that for now the fight against the spread of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has to be undertaken with other tools, such as physical distancing, hand hygiene and the wearing of masks, and with “adjustments to daily life”.
Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the W.H.O. Emergency Health Program, reminded the audience that pandemic respiratory viruses become seasonal over time. “Let’s hope there are vaccines to control the pandemic,” he said.
The Covid-19 pandemic has already caused at least 793,847 deaths and infected over 22.7 million people in 196 countries and territories, according to a report by the French news agency AFP.