MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

WHO admits no “silver bullet” despite strong hopes for a vaccine: “big battle ahead for Brazil and India”

“The message to people and governments is clear: 'Do it all',” Tedros told a virtual news briefing from the UN body's headquarters in Geneva

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that, despite strong hopes for a vaccine, there might never be a “silver bullet” for COVID-19. More than 18.14 million people around the world are reported to have been infected with the disease and 688,080 have died.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO emergencies head Mike Ryan exhorted all nations to rigorously enforce health measures such as mask-wearing, social distancing, hand-washing and testing.

“The message to people and governments is clear: 'Do it all',” Tedros told a virtual news briefing from the UN body's headquarters in Geneva. He said face masks should become a symbol of solidarity round the world.

“A number of vaccines are now in Phase 3 clinical trials and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection. However, there’s no silver bullet at the moment - and there might never be.”

Ryan said countries with high transmission rates, including Brazil and India, needed to brace for a big battle. “The way out is long and requires a sustained commitment,” he added.

WHO began pressing China in early May to invite in its experts to help investigate the animal origins of COVID-19. The UN health agency sent an epidemiologist and an animal health specialist to Beijing on Jul 10 to lay the groundwork for a probe aimed at identifying how the virus entered the human species.

“The WHO advance team that travelled to China has now concluded their mission to lay the groundwork for further joint efforts to identify the virus origins,” Tedros said.