United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday the planet might be fighting the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic for many years to return albeit vaccines are quickly approved.
Guterres while speaking at the UN General Assembly’s first-ever session on the coronavirus pandemic hailed the fast scientific progress but cautioned that vaccination wasn’t a panacea for the ills affecting the earth .
“Let’s not fool ourselves. A vaccine cannot undo damage which will stretch across years, even decades to return ,” Guterres said. “Extreme poverty is rising, the threat of famine looms. We face the most important global recession in eight decades.”
He said COVID-19 – which has killed nearly 1.5 million people globally – exacerbated other long-term challenges including inequality and global climate change .
Leaders or senior officials from quite 100 countries will participate within the UN summit through short, prerecorded speeches, but diplomats don’t expect the virtual two-day gathering to steer immediately to big decisions.
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