The international community will win the fight against the coronavirus if it takes the lessons of 2020 to heart, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a recorded New Year's message on Wednesday. "Do we ignore the lessons of 2020 and allow insular, partisan approaches, conspiracy theories and attacks on science to prevail, resulting in unnecessary suffering to people's health and society at large?" the WHO chief asked. "Or do we walk the last miles of this crisis together, helping each other along the way, from sharing vaccines fairly, to offering accurate advice, compassion and care to all who need, as one global family? The choice is easy." There is light at the end of the tunnel, and we will get there by taking the path together, Dr. Tedros said. The WHO chief said that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken so many lives and caused massive disruption to families, societies and economies all over the world. But it also triggered the fastest and most wide-reaching response to a global health emergency in human history. The hallmarks of this response have been an unparalleled mobilization of science, a search for solutions, and a commitment to global solidarity, Dr. Tedros said. The UN chief stressed that vaccines offer great hope to turn the tide of the pandemic. But to protect the world, we must ensure that all people at risk everywhere — not just in countries that can afford vaccines — are immunized, he added.
