The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that a critical shortage of vaccines has left some countries unable to start COVID-19 inoculation campaigns, while insisting on a “vaccines and” - rather than a “vaccines-only” – approach to prevent infections spreading.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris said that “vaccination is beginning to show good effects” in countries that have been able to start their vaccination programmes.
“We all need to be vaccinated now”, she insisted, amid efforts to quadruple the global production of vaccines from the current output of around five billion.
Preliminary results from countries such as the United Kingdom have shown that vaccination programs have averted very large numbers of deaths, Dr. Harris explained.
But she warned against complacency and appealed for greater vigilance to prevent transmission of the virus: “We have to do it all, we have to do all the public health social measures, we have to get better at the quarantine, better at the self-isolation, better at the tracking tracing and really, really do it, everywhere.”
Highlighting Brazil’s “terrible losses” from the new coronavirus, Dr Harris reiterated that “public health social measures work” – a message later echoed by WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who urged countries during a scheduled Press conference later on Friday to “stop saying, ‘It’s vaccine only,’ it’s ‘Vaccine and.’”
Dr. Harris acknowledged that it is “very difficult for people living in crowded conditions, so they need the support at every level to avoid the crowding, avoid the close contact, everyone who is potentially infected needs to be identified”.
Brazil recorded more than 4,000 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours for the first time on Thursday, as a more contagious variant fuelled a surge in cases.
To date, the country has seen the second highest death toll from the coronavirus after the United States – more than 340,000 deaths – and as of early April, it had dispensed nearly 20 million doses.
But the world faces a “serious shortfall” of vaccines which has left many countries waiting to begin their inoculation campaigns, Dr. Harris said.
Highlighting the misunderstanding that getting vaccinated stops transmission, Dr. Harris said that this was not the case.
She also warned that the rise in cases and deaths in all regions around the world is in part owing to “an increase in the variants” and “some of it is due to people going out of lockdown and interpreting that as a signal that they got back to this old normal, that as we know has not been working.”
“We need to bring down the transmission while giving the vaccination the chance to stop the severe disease and the severe deaths,” she insisted.
ENDS
STORY: WHO Vaccine Advice
TRT: 02 min 50s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 9 MARCH 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations building and flag alley, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “We are very concerned about the rise in the cases and deaths in all regions actually, all regions of the world are showing an uptake, a little bit less in Africa but everywhere there are very concerning rises in cases and deaths.”
- Close-up, UN logo, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “Some of it is due to an increase in the variants, some of it is due to people going out of lockdown and interpreting that as a signal that they got back to this old normal, that as we know has not been working.”
- Close-up, UNTV camera, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “People are misunderstanding that, seeming to think that vaccination will stop transmission. That is not the case. We need to bring down the transmission while giving the vaccination the chance to stop the severe disease and the severe deaths.”
- Medium shot, podium with speakers to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “The good news is we are now seeing preliminary results from countries like the United Kingdom that indeed the vaccination programs have averted very large numbers of deaths. But we have to do it all, we have to do all the public health social measures, we have to get better at the quarantine, better at the self-isolation, better at the tracking tracing and really, really do it, everywhere.”
- Wide shot, UNTV camera in foreground and podium to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “Brazil has been suffering terrible losses, but the message is, again, the public health social measures work. You have to apply them. Now it is very difficult for people living in crowded conditions, so they need the support, they need the support at every level to be able to avoid the crowding, avoid the close contact, everyone who is potentially infected needs to be identified so that they can be removed from the healthy.”
- Close-up, laptop screen, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “If we do it all, we will get out of this and the vaccination is beginning to show good effects in the countries that have been able to do those programmes, but we all need to be vaccinated now.”
- Medium close-up, UN logo, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Margaret Harris, World Health Organization spokesperson: “We are facing a serious shortfall of doses and we want to see more doses available for the countries, there are still countries waiting to deliver and begin their vaccination campaigns.”
- Wide shot, UNTV camera in foreground and podium to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A new UN Human Rights report published on Tuesday details the human rights impacts of the expanding reach of gangs in Haiti. According to data verified by the Office, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,608 were injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday described the deadly impact of drone strikes in Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civilians
The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur has risen further, amid a “sharp increase” in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
Middle East conflict impacts global trade, raising oil and commodity prices due to disruptions.
3
1
3
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
WMO State of the Global Climate 2025 report - UNDER EMBARGO 0400 GMT (0500 CET) Monday, 23 March 2026
UN weather agency warns of record ‘climate imbalance’ as planetary warming accelerates
All-time high greenhouse gas concentrations in our planet’s atmosphere continue to drive heat records on land and sea, with long-lasting consequences for humanity, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights Office report released today on Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on Tuesday concerning the deadly blast at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul:
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the impact of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , WFP
Middle East war may deepen global hunger; mass displacement, rights violations on the rise
The Middle East war could cause the worst disruption to humanitarian work since COVID, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The UN’s top human rights forum gathered in Geneva on Monday, where Member States highlighted the growing civilian toll of war in the Middle East, sparked by Israeli and U.S. bombing of Iran, counter-strikes by Tehran against Gulf states and Israeli shelling of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to attacks by the armed group.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL , UNFPA , IOM , UNHCR
As the UN Secretary-General touched down in Beirut on Friday in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, UN agencies highlighted the dangers for civilians and particularly pregnant women and migrant workers, amid ongoing airstrikes and rocket fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity: independent UN rights probe
Scores of Ukrainian children are still missing after being deported far and wide across Russia and occupied territories while their families continue to search for them, human rights investigators said on Thursday.