Antonio Guterres
UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that the delay in vaccine distribution could lead to an increase in deaths due to COVID-19 mutations. His words are quoted by TASS.
“There is a real threat of the virus mutating into more infectious and deadly variants that may be resistant to existing vaccines,” Guterres said.
He called for increased production of vaccines worldwide, as well as ensuring their universal availability. The secretary general stressed that drugs are rapidly appearing in high-income countries, while the poorest countries in the world do not get them.
Guterres concluded that if rich countries think they will be safe as long as they vaccinate only their own citizens, they are wrong.
Earlier in January, Guterres accused rich countries of “vaccine nationalism.” According to him, in the struggle for the purchase of vaccines, such states ignored the needs of less developed countries. He stressed that the pandemic has exposed deep problems in international cooperation. The UN secretary general also added that the spread of the coronavirus has had a “disproportionate and dire” impact on the least protected social groups.
