WHO warns: vaccines "don't mean zero Covid"

No question of letting your guard down.

The arrival of several effective vaccines against Covid-19 will not eliminate the virus despite the optimism that accompanies it, warns the World Health Organization, this Friday.

"Vaccines do not mean zero Covid", insists Mike Ryan, in charge of emergency situations at the UN agency, explaining that vaccines alone will "not be able to do the job".

“We have reached […] an inflection point in the pandemic.

We ask people to continue to make efforts ”in the face of Covid-19, he encourages.

At his side, the person in charge of the management of the pandemic at the WHO, the American Maria Van Kerkhove, calls on the population to “really think about what you do” during the holiday season.

“The decisions we make now […] can mean life or death for us, for our family,” she points out.

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The Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 65 million people and killed more than 1.5 million, has started to accelerate around the world again, as mass vaccination projects are becoming clearer in several countries.

"Respect the measures"

“The progress made in vaccines gives us all a boost and we can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

But he warns of the "growing feeling that the pandemic is over."

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Several WHO officials have also warned against the false sense of security that vaccines can provide.

"While vaccines are being deployed, people will have to continue to respect public health measures so that everyone is protected," said the director general.

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The WHO chief also welcomed the announcement made by President-elect Joe Biden and former US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton who said they were ready to be vaccinated publicly against Covid-19. to encourage their fellow citizens to do the same.

" It's a good idea.

I would be happy to do the same.

But at the same time, I have to make sure it's my turn, because I don't want to take someone else's vaccine, ”he said, when asked about it.