WHO has said that with vaccines “there is hope …

The CEO of World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, assured on Monday that he see “the light at the end of the tunnel” thanks to the results obtained during tests with the future vaccines against the coronavirus, and argued that “with other sanitary measures” there is “real hope” to end the pandemic.

“There is now real hope that vaccines, along with other proven health measures, can help end the covid-19 pandemic,” Tedros said during the regular coronavirus briefing. And I add: “The light at the end of this long dark tunnel is intensifying after the latest good news about vaccines. “

At the same time, he highlighted the scientific work that managed to develop a drug within a few months. “No vaccine in history has developed so quickly. The scientific community has set a new standard for the creation of vaccines, ”he said.

The statements of the WHO referent coincide with the announcement of AstraZeneca, who on Monday reported in a statement that the vaccine (AZD1222) – developed with the University of Oxford – demonstrated 70% effectiveness against Covid-19.

This announcement comes in addition to that made by the company Moderna and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, who have ensured that the vaccine they are developing has an effectiveness of more than 90%.

The results of the AstraZeneca vaccine are “encouraging”, said Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief researcher, in press statements, and stressed that the UN agency “is eager to examine this data like other data of recent weeks.

WHO particularly appreciates, noted Swaminathan, “that AstraZeneca has created a vaccine that is affordable, easy to store and good for countries and people around the world.”

Christmas Treatments

On the other hand, in view of the next Christmas holidays and in accordance with the protocols established by the various countries to prevent the spread of Covid-19, WHO urged to avoid family lunches and dinners at Christmas.

“The wisest decision at Christmas would be not to organize family lunches or dinners to contain the spread of the coronavirus,” WHO technical chief Maria Van Kerkhove recommended during the usual pandemic briefing.

“The difficult decision not to reunite as a family for the holidays is the safest bet,” he said.