*Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)
Hello, I’m Dr Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director for WHO in the Western Pacific Region. I wanted to send a message to people in our Region about COVID-19 vaccines.
The news of COVID-19 vaccines starting to roll out in countries around our Region is very promising. Safe and effective vaccines will be an important tool, alongside all the other tools we already have, to protect people from COVID-19 and save lives.
Governments and partners are working extremely hard to deliver vaccines to countries around our region as quickly as possible. But in the short term, in most countries, the number of available vaccines will be limited.
While this is the case, our highest priority must be to protect those most exposed to infection, and most vulnerable to getting sick: frontline health care workers, older people, and those with chronic conditions.
Prioritising these groups is crucial. For the rest of us, we need to be patient, and wait our turn.
And even as more vaccine becomes available, we must continue all the other measures we know work to prevent transmission of the virus.
This is because the current evidence shows that the existing COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing disease, but we still don’t know if they prevent people from becoming infected with the virus.
This means that being vaccinated will stop you getting sick, but it may not prevent you from passing the virus onto others.
Also, while these new vaccines are showing very promising results, no vaccine is 100% effective. And, there are still some areas of uncertainty: for example, about how the vaccines work in specific age groups such as children, and how effective they are
against emerging variants of the virus.
So even as vaccines are rolled out, we must stick to all the other measures that we know work to stop transmission of COVID-19: wash hands, wear masks, keep distance from others, and follow the advice of your local public health authorities.
I know people are sick and tired of this pandemic, and want it to be over. Vaccines offer hope, but they alone will not end the pandemic.
So my humble plea to all of you is this: we simply must stay committed to what we know works. The actions we continue to take as individuals will determine our collective health – and the course that this pandemic takes next.
Thank you very much.