Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general has said that when the Covid-19 vaccines will be available, he has the intentions to take that and he is going to do it publicly and asserted the fact that for him the vaccination is like a moral obligation to the entire community.

On Wednesday, Guterres added that he has all the intent to receive the vaccine as and when it becomes available for him as whatever the situation might be that will be justified for it. He also said that he has got not an iota of doubt to do that in public.

The UN Chief who is 71-year-old was answering questions as part of a press briefing at the headquarters of the UN about how he is going to take the Covid-19 vaccine publicly when it is available for him.

He went on to say that he encourages everybody who has got access to the vaccine should be vaccinated because it is like a service that everybody must provide themselves. If everyone is vaccinated, it is like a service to the entire society as they are not going to spread anymore and there will be no risk at all for the disease to be spread. He said that for him the vaccination is a moral obligation that is related to all of them.

The remarks made by the UN Chief came during a hybrid press conference that took place with Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission that followed the Fourth UN-AU Annual Conference.

Guterres has reiterated the fact that is a call for a vaccine of Covid-19 is going to be a public good that must be available everywhere and specifically available in Africa.

He also said that Most of the African countries do not have the finance to respond to the crisis adequately because of their commodity export prices and declining demand.

He was responding to a question on the Covid-19 vaccine and said that the floodgates for it are opening in the rich countries but until the second quarter of 2021 Africa will not going to see the vaccines. He also said that vaccine nationalism is moving at great speed.

Furthermore, he said that, if Africa is not supported properly, all of us will fail to fight the pandemic effectively.

He said that if anyone wants that the vaccine reaches Africa in time, it is indispensable to finance the COVAX initiative. The 4.2 billion USD must reach the continent in the next two months and one has to make it very sure that the vaccines are approved by WHO and should be distributed in Africa very fast.

COVAX happens to be a global initiative and it aims to work with the manufacturers of vaccine to provide the countries with equitable access worldwide to effective and safe vaccines once it is approved and licensed by most of the countries.