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Measures against COVID-19 to be implemented until global vaccination — WHO representative

The official emphasized that vaccination in itself is not a panacea capable of stemming the pandemic but it will alleviate the burden of the disease

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. The observance of social and medical measures against the coronavirus is necessary until everyone is protected by inoculation, Melita Vujnovic, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Russia, told TASS.

She emphasized that in itself the vaccination is not a panacea capable of stemming the pandemic but it "will decrease the burden of diseases and will save many lives." "Time is needed in order to include everyone in the inoculation, as well as comprehensive planning, recognition and demand on the part of the society. Until everyone is protected by the inoculation, we should adhere to all known medical and social measures introduced in every country to fight the infection," the representative noted.

Thus, the WHO representative pointed out that only the initial phase of vaccination was launched in the majority of countries, aimed at priority groups of population. "The procedure of official reporting at the WHO and a system to track the inoculation progress by country are at the development stage," she added.

"Countries continue to enhance their public health measures and social measures responding to the local epidemic situation and to mitigate the risk of importing various strains," she concluded, noting that the situation with growth in incidence varies in the countries of the WHO European region.

On January 18, mass vaccination against the coronavirus began in Russian regions. Russians can get inoculated free of charge with one of the two registered vaccines - Sputnik V or EpiVacCorona.