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Antonio Guterres warns Covid pandemic not over, decries vaccine inequality
The Arab News reported, citing the AFP, the UN secretary-general warned Wednesday that after two years the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over and could be prolonged further due to “scandalously unequal” vaccine distribution.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement marking the second anniversary of the global crisis: “The pandemic’s most tragic toll has been on the health and lives of millions, with more than 446 million cases worldwide, more than six million deaths confirmed, and countless more grappling with worsening mental health.”
He said; “Thanks to unprecedented public health measures, and the extraordinarily rapid development and deployment of vaccines, many parts of the world are bringing the pandemic under control.”
“But it would be a grave mistake to think the pandemic is over.”
Guterres noted that the “distribution of vaccines remains scandalously unequal,” and that while 1.5 billion doses of vaccine are produced each month, “nearly three billion people are still waiting for their first shot.”
Guterres said: “This failure is the direct result of policy and budgetary decisions that prioritize the health of people in wealthy countries over the health of people in poor countries."
He added that the two-tiered recovery is “a recipe for more variants, more lockdowns and more sorrow and sacrifice in every country.”
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The report noted that the statement concluded by calling on the whole world to “re-dedicate ourselves to ending this pandemic... and closing this sad chapter in humanity’s history, once and for all.”
Source: arabnews
