Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 27, 2025

"Moral Obligation": UN Chief Says He Will Take COVID-19 Vaccine Publicly

"Moral Obligation": UN Chief Says He Will Take COVID-19 Vaccine Publicly

Of course, I intend to receive the vaccine when it becomes available for me in whatever the situation that will be justified for that. And, obviously, I will have no doubt in doing it publicly, Guterres said on Wednesday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he intends to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available and he will do so publicly, asserting that vaccination for him is a moral obligation" towards the whole community.

Of course, I intend to receive the vaccine when it becomes available for me in whatever the situation that will be justified for that. And, obviously, I will have no doubt in doing it publicly, Guterres said on Wednesday.

The 71-year-old UN chief was responding to a question during a press briefing at the UN Headquarters on whether he would publicly take the COVID-19 vaccine when it's available to him.

I encourage everybody that has access to the vaccine to be vaccinated, because it is a service, not only that we provide to ourselves. Each one of us being vaccinated provides a service to the whole community because we are no longer spreading... there is no risk of spreading the disease. So, vaccination is for me a moral obligation in relation to all of us, he said.

His remarks came during the hybrid press conference with Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat following the Fourth UN-AU Annual Conference.

Mr Guterres reiterated his call for a COVID-19 vaccine to be a global public good available to everywhere and particularly, available in Africa.

Most African countries lack the financing to adequately respond to the crisis, due in part to declining demand and prices of their commodity exports, he said.

In response to a question that while floodgates to COVID-19 vaccines are opening in rich countries, Africa might not begin to see vaccines until the second quarter of 2021, he said: It's true we are seeing vaccine nationalism moving with full speed.

He added that if Africa is not properly supported, we will not be able to fight the pandemic anywhere effectively.

He said the only way to ensure that the vaccines reach Africa timely is to make sure that the COVAX initiative is financed and gets the USD 4.2 [billion] it needs in the next two months to make sure that vaccines approved by the World Health Organization can be distributed in Africa sooner rather than later.

COVAX is a global initiative aimed at working with vaccine manufacturers to provide countries worldwide equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, once they are licensed and approved.

Mr Guterres said there is an enormous effort by several countries to ensure vaccines for their own populations.

But COVAX is working hard. There are several vaccines being made for COVAX, and it is perfectly possible to deliver if the financing is guaranteed, he said.

The UK, Bahrain and Canada have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within the past week.

The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorise the use of the vaccine as early as this weekend after its own study concluded the two-dose vaccine provided benefits even after just the first injection cutting the risk of getting COVID-19 by about half.

The Pfizer-BioNTech was found to be 95 per cent effective after the second dose.

The European Medicines Agency has said a decision on either the Pfizer-BioNTech shot or Moderna Inc.'s vaccine could come by the end of this month.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
×