The World Health Organization on Friday called a coronavirus vaccine a “vital tool” in battling the virus, but it alone will not defeat the pandemic.
During a press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said people have to get used to managing coronavirus and permanently adjust their lifestyles to lower the virus rates. However, he also said, “At the same time, we will not, we cannot go back to the way things were.”
“In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has given new impetus to the need to accelerate efforts to respond to climate change,” Tedros said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a glimpse of our world as it could be: cleaner skies and rivers.
On Friday, Tedros said “every single person” can influence the outcome of the pandemic.
“Every person and family has a responsibility to know the level of COVID-19 transmission locally and to understand what they can do to protect themselves and others,” he said.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said it’s “very important” for people to get used to “how to live with this virus.”
“What we are seeing now is a targeted approach to adding interventions that need to be put in place to get outbreaks under control and reduce the number of infections that are happening,” Van Kerkhove said.
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