The COVID-19 pandemic remains the biggest risk to the global economy, and is contributing to rising inflation in many countries, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

Georgieva urged redoubled efforts to boost vaccinations and beef up defenses against the coronavirus, saying those efforts would help ease supply chain disruptions and combat inflation, in addition to interest rate increases now being eyed by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks.

The IMF chief conceded that inflation had turned out to be a "more significant economic and social problem" than expected, and said economists had underestimated the impact of delayed consumption and climate shocks on food prices.