New Delhi: As the number of coronavirus cases worldwide crosses a total of 17.5 million, with more than 680,000 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that there may never be a “silver bullet” for deadly infection.
“The number of cases worldwide has increased more than 5 times to 17.5 million and the number of deaths has more than tripled to 680,000 since the WHO emergency committee on COVID-19 last met three months, “said Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Recognizing several pharmaceutical companies that have reached critical stages of human testing, Ghebreyesus said that while it does raise hopes for the COVID-19 vaccine, it is not a guarantee.
“Several vaccines are now in phase 3 clinical trials and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent infection in people. However, there is no silver bullet at the moment and there may never be, “he said.
Earlier Saturday, after evaluating the six months of the global crisis at its emergency committee meeting, the WHO warned that the COVID-19 pandemic may be “prolonged.”
“The WHO continues to assess that the global risk level for COVID-19 is very high,” the committee said when meeting for the fourth time since the outbreak in China emerged last December.
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