World Health Organization officials on Friday warned governments and citizens not to drop their guard over the COVID-19 pandemic now a vaccination was close, saying healthcare systems could still buckle under pressure.
Britain approved Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, raising hopes that the tide could soon turn against a virus that has killed nearly 1.5 million people globally, hammered the world economy and upended normal life for billions.
"Progress on vaccines gives us all a lift and we can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, WHO is concerned that there is a growing perception that the COVID-19 pandemic is over," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a Geneva news conference.