WHO: 'There's No Silver Bullet' against COVID-19
2020-08-04
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The World Health Organization, or WHO, warned on Monday that there might never be a "silver bullet" or an extraordinary solution like a perfect vaccine against COVID-19.
2WHO officials added that the road to normality would be long.
3And some countries would need to re-think how they deal with the health crisis.
4Johns Hopkins University estimates that, by August 3, more than 18 million people around the world had been infected with the disease and more than 690,000 had died.
5Also, some nations that thought they were over the worst of the crisis are experiencing a resurgence.
6WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged nations to strongly enforce health measures.
7They include wearing face coverings, social distancing, hand-washing and testing.
8"The message to people and governments is clear: 'Do it all,'" Tedros said from the United Nations agency's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
9He said face coverings should become a symbol of togetherness around the world.
10"A number of vaccines are now in phase three ... trials and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection.
11However, there's no silver bullet at the moment - and there might never be," he noted.
12Tedros said while the coronavirus is the biggest health emergency in almost 100 years, the international effort to find a vaccine is unlike anything seen before.
13The WHO chief also pointed to some concerns.
14"We may not have a vaccine that may work, or its protection could be for just a few months, not more ... Until we finish the ... trials, we will not know."
15Dr. Mike Ryan is the WHO's head of emergencies.
16He said countries with high transmission rates, including Brazil and India, needed to prepare for a big fight: "The way out is long," he said, noting success will require ongoing efforts.
17"Some countries are really going to have to take a step back now and really take a look at how they are addressing the pandemic within their national borders," he added.
18WHO officials also said an early investigation team had completed its China mission.
19The mission, demanded by the United States, was to search and identify the start of the virus.
20The U.S. is the WHO's top donor and plans to leave the body next year.
21The U.S. government accuses the WHO of being too easy on China.
22A larger, WHO-led team of Chinese and international experts is planned next.
23But the timing and other details of that are unclear.
24Ryan said China had already given some information but some knowledge is still missing.
25I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The World Health Organization, or WHO, warned on Monday that there might never be a "silver bullet" or an extraordinary solution like a perfect vaccine against COVID-19. 2WHO officials added that the road to normality would be long. And some countries would need to re-think how they deal with the health crisis. 3Johns Hopkins University estimates that, by August 3, more than 18 million people around the world had been infected with the disease and more than 690,000 had died. Also, some nations that thought they were over the worst of the crisis are experiencing a resurgence. 4WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged nations to strongly enforce health measures. They include wearing face coverings, social distancing, hand-washing and testing. 5"The message to people and governments is clear: 'Do it all,'" Tedros said from the United Nations agency's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. He said face coverings should become a symbol of togetherness around the world. 6"A number of vaccines are now in phase three ... trials and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection. However, there's no silver bullet at the moment - and there might never be," he noted. 7Tedros said while the coronavirus is the biggest health emergency in almost 100 years, the international effort to find a vaccine is unlike anything seen before. 8The WHO chief also pointed to some concerns. "We may not have a vaccine that may work, or its protection could be for just a few months, not more ... Until we finish the ... trials, we will not know." 9Dr. Mike Ryan is the WHO's head of emergencies. He said countries with high transmission rates, including Brazil and India, needed to prepare for a big fight: "The way out is long," he said, noting success will require ongoing efforts. 10"Some countries are really going to have to take a step back now and really take a look at how they are addressing the pandemic within their national borders," he added. 11WHO officials also said an early investigation team had completed its China mission. The mission, demanded by the United States, was to search and identify the start of the virus. The U.S. is the WHO's top donor and plans to leave the body next year. The U.S. government accuses the WHO of being too easy on China. 12A larger, WHO-led team of Chinese and international experts is planned next. But the timing and other details of that are unclear. Ryan said China had already given some information but some knowledge is still missing. 13I'm Jonathan Evans. 14Michael Shields and Emma Farge reported on this story for Reuters. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 15_______________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17resurgence - n. a growth or increase that occurs after a period without growth or increase 18symbol - n. an action, object, or event that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality 19phase - n. a part or step in a process 20transmission - n. the act or process by which something is spread or passed from one person or thing to another 21address(ing) - v. to deal with a matter, issue or problem 22pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 23We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.