Vaccine by itself will not end coronavirus pandemic: WHO Chief

In a tweet, he said: A vaccine on its own will not end the COVID19 pandemic. We will still need to continue."

"Since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, we knew that a vaccine would be essential for bringing the pandemic under control. But it’s important to emphasise that a vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them."

The remarks come on a day when American biotechnology company Moderna, Inc, said that its vaccine candidate against COVID-19 has shown 94.5 per cent efficiency.

The WHO chief mentioned that: "Initial supply of COVID19 vaccines will be limited, so healthworkers, older people & other at-risk populations will be prioritised. That will hopefully reduce the number of deaths & enable health systems to cope, but the virus will still have a lot room to move."

Moderna's study, known as the COVE study, enrolled more than 30,000 participants in the U.S. and is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

This first interim analysis was based on 95 cases, of which 90 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 5 cases observed in the mRNA-1273 group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 94.5% (p <0.0001).

Welcoming the progress, Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, said: “This is a pivotal moment in the development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Since early January, we have chased this virus with the intent to protect as many people around the world as possible. This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease."

Bancel said, “This milestone is only possible because of the hard work and sacrifices of so many."