Geneva/Zurich, Switzerland
Reuters
The global death toll from COVID-19 could double to two million before a successful vaccine is widely used and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic, an official at the World Health Organization said on Friday.
“Unless we do it all, [two million deaths]…is not only imaginable, but sadly very likely,” Mike Ryan, head of the UN agency’s emergencies programme, told a briefing on Friday.
AUSTRALIA SAYS WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THE ORIGINS OF COVID-19
The world’s nations must do all they can to understand the origins of COVID-19, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday, comments that could worsen tensions with China.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Morrison said an inquiry into the roots of the virus would minimise the threat of another global pandemic.
“This virus has inflicted a calamity on our world and its peoples. We must do all we can to understand what happened for no other purpose than to prevent it from happening again,” Morrison said via a teleconference video link.
“There is a clear mandate to identify the zoonotic source of the COVID-19 virus and how it was transmitted to humans.”
Morrison’s comments came after similar comments by the prime minister earlier in the year soured ties between Australia and China.
At that time, he led global demands for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. China strongly rebuffed that move, with Beijing’s ambassador to Canberra warning the inquiry calls could sour trade ties.
Since then, China has imposed trade sanctions on Australia. It suspended some beef imports on a technicality and effectively blocked a $A439 million trade in barley by slapping tariffs of 80.5 per cent on the Australian import. China has also launched an anti-dumping probe into Australian wine imports.
Meanwhile, Australia called on all nations to share a COVID-19 vaccine should one be developed.
Australia earlier this year signed a vaccine agreement with AstraZeneca with the first batches scheduled to be delivered in January 2021 if trials prove successful.
Australia has said it will share supplies with smaller Pacific Island nations.
– COLIN PACKHAM, Reuters.
The number of deaths about nine months since the novel coronavirus was discovered in China is nearing one million.
“We are not out of the woods anywhere, we are not out of the woods in Africa,” said Ryan.
He said young people should not be blamed for a recent increase in infections despite growing concerns that they are driving its spread after restrictions and lockdowns were eased around the world.
“I really hope we don’t get into finger wagging: it’s all because of the youth,” said Ryan. “The last thing a young person needs is an old person pontificating and wagging the finger.”
Rather, indoor gatherings of people of all ages were driving the epidemic, he said.
The WHO is continuing talks with China about its possible involvement in the COVAX financing scheme designed to guarantee fast and equitable access globally to COVID-19 vaccines, a week after the deadline for committing passed.
“We’re in discussions with China about the role they may play as we go forward,” said Bruce Aylward, WHO senior adviser and head of the ACT-Accelerator programme to back vaccines, treatments and diagnostics against COVID-19.
He confirmed that Taiwan has signed up to the scheme, even though it is not a WHO member, bringing the total to 159 participants. Some 34 are still deciding.
Talks with China also include discussion of the world’s second-largest economy potentially supplying vaccines to the scheme, he said.
The UN agency published on Friday draft criteria for the assessment of emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines to help guide drugmakers as vaccine trials reach advanced stages, said WHO assistant director-general, Mariangela Simao.
The document will be available for public comment until 8th October, she said.
Earlier on Friday, a Chinese health official said the WHO had given its support for the country to start administering experimental coronavirus vaccines to people even while clinical trials were still underway.
