The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said he was optimistic that the coronavirus epidemic would be eradicated in 2022, but said that countries should work together to control the spread of the disease.
Dr Tedros Adhanom warned in what he described as “confused patriotism and the vaccine being saved” in a statement in the new year.
The WHO chief’s statement comes two years after the coronavirus epidemic. Out of a total of 287 million cases worldwide, 5.5 million people died of the global pandemic.
With much of the world celebrating the start of the new year 2022, governments have been pressuring the public to maintain social distancing to reduce the risk of the disease spreading.
