As countries across the globe are ramping up their COVID-19 vaccination plans with some of them already starting the first doses, a senior official at the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it is ‘not a game’ and called for the nations to avoid ‘some kind of nationalistic footrace’. While answering a question during a press conference, WHO DIrector of Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan on December 18 urged the countries to not turn COVID-19 immunisation into a race with some nations winning and others losing. Warning against comparing national approaches in a competitive fashion, Ryan called for patience, tolerance as well as solidarity.
Since the question that Ryan was asked during the regular press conference was about public concern over governments attempting to acquire certain COVID-19 vaccine candidates over the others, the WHO Director for Emergencies explained that there several properties that make some vaccines more suitable for certain settings that further influences the decision-making of governments.