Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : July 14, 2021 10:56 AM IST
The world needs a Global Vaccination Plan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
When will this Covid-19 pandemic end? One popular theory is that once enough people gain immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the spread of the disease will decline. This is called the 'herd-immunity'. Most researchers estimate that 60 70% percent of the population needs to be immune to the disease, either through vaccinations or past exposure to the virus, in order to achieve herd immunity and interrupt the chain of transmission. But mass vaccination is a safer way to achieve 'herd immunity' as it creates immunity without causing illness or resulting complications. Now the question is how long it would take to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world to end the Covid-19 pandemic, and how many vaccine doses are needed?
At least 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate 70 per cent of the world and end this pandemic, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN chief said it on Tuesday at the opening of the ministerial segment of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is the top platform for reviewing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, news agency Xinhua reported.
However, Guterres highlighted that there is "uneven access" to vaccines around the world and within countries, and this global vaccination gap "threatens us all."
As the virus mutates, it could become even more transmissible, or even more deadly, the expert said, adding that the world needs a Global Vaccination Plan to boost the production of vaccines, ensure equitable distribution through COVAX, coordinate implementation and financing, and support national immunization programs.
To realize this plan, the UN chief said he has been calling for an Emergency Task Force that "brings together the countries that produce and can produce vaccines, the World Health Organization, the ACT-Accelerator partners and international financial institutions, able to deal with the relevant pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers, and other key stakeholders."
"Right now, it is essential to fully finance the ACT-Accelerator and support the $50 billion investment roadmap, to be led by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization, to end the pandemic and secure a global recovery," IANS quoted the secretary-general as saying.
The Indian government on Tuesday warned that continued gross violation of Covid appropriate behaviour can lead to the third wave of the pandemic in the country.
During a media briefing, Luv Agarwal - joint secretary in the health ministry - shared pictures of crowded markets and tourist places, and said that such "gross violations of Covid appropriate behaviour can nullify the gains so far."
The country's daily Covid cases continues to see a decline. According to Agarwal, the average daily count declined from 3,87,029 cases between May 5 and May 11 to 40,841 cases between July 7 to July 13.
India reported 38,792 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and 624 deaths due to the virus, according to the Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. As of July 14, a total 38,76,97,935 vaccine doses have been administered to eligible beneficiaries in the country.
ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava had fixed a target of 1 crore vaccinations per day for mid-July. But the average number of doses administered per day is around 41 lakh in India. Meanwhile, experts say at least 90 lakh doses are needed to be administered every day to meet the Centre's target of vaccinating India's adult population by the end of December.
