There may never be “silver bullet” for Covid-19, WHO warns

The World Health Organization warned on Monday that, despite strong hopes for a vaccine, there might never be a “silver bullet” for Covid-19, and the road to normality would be long.

Nearly 18.2 million people around the world have been infected with the disease and over 691,300​ have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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 U.N. 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 three 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.”

(Text: Reuters; photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)