On Tuesday, Sept. 7, WHO officials spoke at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, said that the COVID-19 virus will continue to mutate like the flu, diminishing hopes of it being eliminated anytime soon.
"I think this virus is here to stay with us and it will evolve like influenza pandemic viruses, it will evolve to become one of the other viruses that affect us," said Ryan. He also told reporters that forced vaccinations and booster shots won't make the virus disappear.
"People have said we're going to eliminate or eradicate the virus. No, we're not. Very, very unlikely."
WHO officials also claimed that things could have been different if the world had taken early steps to prevent the spread of the virus.
"We had a chance in the beginning of this pandemic," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19. "This pandemic did not need to be this bad."
Other influential public health figures and big pharma executives have made similar statements about the COVID-19 virus. White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel have said that the coronavirus, much like influenza, is something the world has to learn to live with.
WHO, governments preparing people for booster doses
The WHO's statement about the COVID-19 virus came out after reports emerged showing vaccine-induced immunity wanes over time. This finding, along with the rapid spread of the delta variant, has prompted the move toward booster shots.
The U.S. is slated to begin distributing booster doses by Sept. 20. The only vaccine that may be administered as a booster dose is the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. According to recent reports, public health agencies may need more time to approve a third dose of the Moderna vaccine and a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Meanwhile, other reports suggest that federal regulators do not have enough data on the health impacts of booster doses to properly justify approving their distribution. (Related: Scientists warn push for COVID-19 booster shots not based on scientific data; "politics" and profits now driving vaccine policies.)
The WHO currently opposes the distribution of booster shots in countries with high vaccination rates, such as Israel and the United States. The WHO wants more people all over the world, particularly in underdeveloped nations, to get fully vaccinated first before booster doses become available.
"I have called for a moratorium on boosters, at least until the end of this month to allow those countries that are furthest behind to catch up," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
It should be noted that this is not a dismissal of the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and why many people refuse to get them at VaccineWars.com.
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