Confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide exceeded 100 million in the early morning of Beijing time on the 27th, of which nearly 2.15 million people left us forever.
After a year of COVID-19, “the numbers will numb us what it represents, but behind every death is someone’s parents, partners, children, friends…” As WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros said, “we must lift ourselves up, hope and act.”
This is the darkest moment of mankind. The coronavirus vaccine began to be vaccinated in many countries around the world, giving people a faint glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.
However, the novel coronavirus is still mutating, adding a lot of variables to this “race” between humans and viruses.
Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO’s health emergency planning department, recently warned that the rapidly spreading Variant virus has complicated the response to the coronavirus pandemic in the Americas, Europe and other regions, making the pandemic situation more serious in the second year than in the first year.
Sumia Swaminathan, the chief scientist of WHO, warned that although many countries began to roll out coronavirus vaccination, global herd immunization is extremely unlikely to be achieved this year.
Human beings still have a long way to go to end the coronavirus pandemic and must be prepared for a protracted war. The more difficult the protracted battle against the global pandemic is, the more necessary it is for all mankind to form a united effort to fight against the pandemic.
All countries must abandon “vaccine nationalism” and create an atmosphere for the international community to unite against the pandemic. According to AFP, as of January 18, more than 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccines had been vaccinated worldwide, but more than 90% of vaccinations were concentrated in 11 richer countries.
WHO data for the same period show that only 25 doses of vaccines were received in one of the lowest-income country in Africa. Some developed countries, on the other hand, rush to buy and hoard vaccines crazily. If all the vaccines purchased can be delivered, EU countries can vaccinate all their people twice, Britain and the United States can vaccinate four times, and Canada can vaccinate six times.
Due to the “vaccine nationalism”, there will inevitably be a “vaccine gap” between different countries, which will have a serious impact on global efforts to build a unified defense line against the pandemic.
After all, in the face of COVID-19, none of us will be safe until everyone is safe. No wonder Tedros recently bitterly criticized the countries that hoarded vaccines: “The world is on the verge of a catastrophic moral failure, which will cost the lives and livelihoods of people in the world’s poorest countries.”
All parties must strongly support WHO to play a leading role in carrying out global anti-pandemic action in a coordinated manner. Many countries, including China, actively support WHO to play a key leading role in promoting international anti-pandemic cooperation.
WHO has also made significant contributions to this end, but the political support and financial investment of the international community to WHO are still very insufficient.
In particular, it should be noted that during Trump’s presidency of the United States, the leadership of WHO in the international fight against the pandemic has been greatly weakened, and concerted global anti-pandemic action has been delayed.
After Biden came to power, the relationship between the United States and the WHO quickly recovered. However, given that the United States has never benefited, the effectiveness and sustainability of its commitments are questionable.
One of the biggest obstacles facing WHO in the future is sustainable and predictable funding. It is estimated that the funding gap of the WHO-led International Cooperation Initiative “Get the Accelerator of Tools to Combat COVID-19” this year is as high as $26 billion. It is still unclear when the United States will fully fulfill its financial responsibility to the organization.
Again, the virus knows no borders. Only unity and cooperation are the most powerful weapon for the international community to defeat the pandemic.
Fortunately, the global confirmed cases of COVID-19 have exceeded the 100 million time mark, and cooperation in the fight against the pandemic has increasingly become the mainstream consensus of the international community. Countries have paid unprecedented attention to the implementation of strict anti-pandemic measures.
Human scientific and technological breakthroughs against mutant viruses are actively advancing, and the accessibility and affordability of vaccines are also It is hoped that it will gradually improve over time.
As Chinese leaders said at the World Economic Forum’s “Davos Agenda” Dialogue on the 25th: “Now, the pandemic is far from over and the fight against the pandemic continues, but we firmly believe that winter cannot stop the pace of spring, and the night cannot hide the dawn.
Human beings will certainly be able to overcome the pandemic, grow and progress in the struggle against disasters, and be reborn. As long as we unite as one, mankind will finally come out of the darkest moment!
