December 17th – Although there is hope, the vaccine “will not stop the virus” and is not a “miracle” to end the coronavirus pandemic, a senior World Health Organization official said at a press conference on Thursday (17th).
He called on people to continue to abide by epidemic prevention regulations, maintain social distancing with others, and avoid going to high-risk areas.
According to CNN, Ge Xijian, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific (Dr. Takeshi Kasai) gives the above views in the latest developments in the region’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to when the world is expected to return to normal, Gussiejian said, “The answer depends on all of us. and the individual actions we will take now and in the future.”
“The number of early vaccines will be limited and priority should be given to those at high risk,” said Gerseyjian. For those other than those at high risk, we may require most people to be vaccinated after 12 to 24 months.
Even so, there are still some uncertainties and unknowns.” Therefore, Gu Xijian called on everyone to “must adhere to personal behaviors and behaviors that protect not only ourselves, but also those around us, that is, wash hands frequently, wear masks, maintain physical distance and avoid high-risk places”.
In addition, WHO also makes different appeals to people of different ages. Olowalk, WHO Director of Emergency Situations in the Western Pacific Region (Dr. Babatunde Olowokure) said that the trend of infection has shifted from the elderly population to the 20-29 age group due to “increasing mobility” after restrictions were relaxed.
“Consational infection” is caused by “low awareness of threats among young people”. In addition, Olovak also said that the death toll remains the highest for people over 80 years old.
Despite the global performance of the Western Pacific, WHO has also issued an appeal. Ge Xijian said: “Although some countries and regions in the Western Pacific region have started vaccination or have plans to inoculate in the next few weeks, for the vast majority of the Western Pacific region, I think the vaccination time will be in the middle or second half of 2021, and it is expected that all high-risk groups will be vaccinated by the end of 2021. Vaccines, but there is still uncertainty.” Olowok also said that “the seven-day average is on the rise in our [Western Pacific] region”, with the most obvious increase in infection rates in South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
