GLOBAL REPORT - WHO WARNS AGAINST DANGERS OF 'VACCINE NATIONALISM'

The Guardian 7 August 2020 - by Martin Farrer

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

The World Health Organization has warned against “vaccine nationalism”, cautioning richer countries that if they keep treatments to themselves they cannot expect to remain safe if poor nations remain exposed.

As global cases of Covid-19 passed 19 million on Friday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it would be in the interest of wealthier nations to help every country protect itself against the disease.

“Vaccine nationalism is not good, it will not help us,” Tedros told the Aspen Security Forum in the United States, via video-link from the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva.

Related: Coronavirus world map: which countries have the most Covid-19 cases and deaths?

“For the world to recover faster, it has to recover together, because it’s a globalised world: the economies are intertwined. Part of the world or a few countries cannot be a safe haven and recover.

“The damage from Covid-19 could be less when those countries who... have the funding commit to this.”

Several countries are racing to find a vaccine for coronavirus, which has killed more than 700,000 people globally.

A study in the United States said that 300,000 Americans could die by December if the leaders of large cities fail to promote counter-measures such as mask-wearing

A team at the University of Washington said 70,000 lives could be saved if more people wore face coverings during the pandemic.

“We’re seeing a rollercoaster in the United States. It appears that people are wearing masks and socially distancing more frequently as infections increase, then after a while as infections drop, people let their guard down,” Dr Christopher Murray, director of the university’s respected Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said in announcing its latest forecast.

More than 159,000 people have died in the US from Covid-19 so far but new daily cases have been falling in recent weeks.

The IHME said infections were falling in former epicentres such as Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, although there were rising in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Virginia.

© Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Several countries are racing to find a vaccine for coronavirus, which has killed more than 700,000 people globally

Talks between US congressional Democrat leaders and the White House on the next stimulus package for the economy have broken up without any agreement.

Steve Munchin, the treasury secretary, said the two sides were close on a number of issues but Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the House of Representatives, said the two sides were “very far apart”, adding that it was “most unfortunate”.

More than 1 million Africans have been infected with the virus million as it continues to spread throughout the continent.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has notched up more than 529,000 infections, 53% of the continental caseload, and the fifth biggest in the world. It has the highest number of deaths (9,604) followed by Egypt (4,951) and Algeria (1,273).

Deaths from Covid-19 in Mexico have passed 50,000. The health ministry on Thursday reported 6,590 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 819 fatalities, bringing the country’s totals to 462,690 cases and 50,517 deaths.

In Brazil, which is preparing to mark another terrible Covid-19 milestone of 100,000 deaths, president Jair Bolsonaro urged people to “get on with life”.

China has logged 37 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Thursday, the country’s health authority has announced – the same as the day before.

A number of European countries have reported a much sharper increase in cases. Germany logged more than 1,000 new infections in the 24 hours to midnight on Thursday. Ireland has seen a rise since last Thursday and has identified a number of clusters of infections in meat plants and accommodation for asylum seekers, while cases in Greece have passed 5,000 in what authorities have called “wake-up week”.

In other developments:

• Travelex, the foreign exchange company, has collapsed into administration with the loss of 1,300 jobs as it becomes the latest victim of the wave of bankruptcies affecting the travel sector.

• Britain’s NHS will be inflicting pain, misery and risk of death on tens of thousands of patients if it again shuts down normal care when a second wave of Covid-19 hits, doctors’ and surgeons’ leaders are warning.

• Universities in France will reopen in September after nearly six months but students will be encouraged to wear face masks and social distance.