Coronavirus outbreak: UN Chief claims only COVID-19 vaccine will allow return to normalcy

United Nation, Apr 16: The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said that a COVID-19 vaccine may be the only thing that can bring back "normalcy", hoping for just before the end of the year.

During a video conferencing, with several other African countries that are members of the United Nations, he said, "A safe and effective vaccine may be the only tool that can return the world to a sense of 'normalcy,' saving millions of lives and countless trillions of dollars."

He called for its accelerated development and accessibility to all, adding it must have a "universal global benefit" and "allow us to control the pandemic."

In the video conferencing, he further said, "We need an ambitious effort to ensure that international stakeholders operate through a harmonized, integrated and leveraged approach to maximize the speed and scale needed for the universal deployment of such a vaccine by the end of 2020."

Guterres said his appeal on March 25 for two billion in donations for a comprehensive UN humanitarian response to the pandemic had so far raised about 20 per cent of that amount.

He further went on to say that with the help of the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations is able to equip as many as 47 African countries with COVID-19 tests.