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STORY: WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
TRT:3:33
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 8 JANUARY 2021, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Close up, WHO Seal
2. Wide shot, podium with speakers in press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"At present, 42 countries are rolling out safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. 36 of these are high-income countries and six are middle-income countries. So, there’s a clear problem that low- and most middle-income countries are not receiving the vaccine yet. This is a problem we can and we must solve together through COVAX and the ACT-Accelerator. "
4. Wide shot, podium with speakers in press room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"At the outset, rich countries have bought up the majority of the supply of multiple vaccines. Now we’re also seeing both high and middle-income countries, that are part of COVAX, making additional bilateral deals. This potentially bumps up the price for everyone and means high-risk people in the poorest and most marginalized countries don’t get the vaccine. "
6. Wide shot, podium with speakers in press room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"Going forward, I want to see manufacturers prioritise supply and rollout through COVAX. I urge countries that have contracted more vaccines than they will need, and are controlling the global supply to also donate and release them to COVAX immediately, which is ready today to roll them out quickly. "
8. Wide shot, podium with speakers in press room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"This is a very dangerous time in the course of the pandemic and I do not want to see people become complacent as vaccines are starting to rollout. Over the past few days, we have seen some of the highest numbers of deaths recorded at any point in the pandemic. This is happening because, over previous weeks, there has been a lack of compliance with what health authorities are advising in several countries."
10. Wide shot, podium with speakers in press room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Mike Ryan Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme:
"We do not want to see a prospect where we see large proportions of people vaccinated in some countries and no one vaccinated in other countries, the people likely to die from this infection is not everybody in every country. It is very particular risk groups by age and by vulnerability who are likely to get very sick and likely to die. It is frontline health workers who are exposed to this virus every day. This is whom we need to protect first. It's not about the overall percentage of the population that's susceptible. It's not about the overall percentage of the population will ultimately be infected. It is: are we going to allow those people who are vulnerable and those people who are most at risk, to get sick and die from this virus? "
12. Wide shot, podium with speakers in press room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to the Director-General and Head of the ACT-Accelerator Coordination Hub, WHO:
"We don't print money. And we don't make vaccines. This is where we need the manufacturers working with us and we need the countries, the donor countries, and others working with us and working together. If a company does not submit the data that we need, it is slowing equitable access to vaccines around the world. If a company doesn't sign and work the deals through with us and if we don't have the financing to do it, they're slowing equitable access. "
14. Close up, WHO Seal
The WHO urged “countries that have contracted more vaccines than they will need” and those who control the global supply of the Covid-19 vaccines “to donate and release them to COVAX immediately, which is ready today to roll them out quickly. "
According to WHO, 42 countries are currently administering COVID-19 vaccines. 36 of these are high-income countries and six are middle-income countries.
“So, there’s a clear problem that low- and most middle-income countries are not receiving the vaccine yet. This is a problem we can and we must solve together through COVAX and the ACT-Accelerator. " Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s Director-General said at the the press conference in Geneva on Friday (8 Jan).
“At the outset, rich countries have bought up the majority of the supply of multiple vaccines,” Tedrs said. “Now we’re also seeing both high and middle-income countries, that are part of COVAX, making additional bilateral deals. This potentially bumps up the price for everyone and means high-risk people in the poorest and most marginalized countries don’t get the vaccine. "
He also warned against people becoming “complacent” as the vaccination campaign is gaining momentum.
"This is a very dangerous time in the course of the pandemic,” he said. ” Over the past few days, we have seen some of the highest numbers of deaths recorded at any point in the pandemic. This is happening because, over previous weeks, there has been a lack of compliance with what health authorities are advising in several countries."
Dr Mike Ryan, the Executive Director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme also warned against a prospect “where we see large proportions of people vaccinated in some countries and no one vaccinated in other countries,” pointing to vulnerable groups and frontline workers at risk in every country.
