Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) — is warning there is a possibility there may never be a ā€œsilver bulletā€ to cure the coronavirus.

On Monday, Tedros appeared for a media briefing about the pandemic where he offered an update on the efforts being made to combat the coronavirus.

Despite the vaccines undergoing clinical trials, Tedros insists there may never be a ā€œsilver bulletā€ when it comes to treating COVID-19.

ā€œA number of vaccines are now in phase three clinical trials and we all hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection,ā€Ā Tedros said.

He added, ā€œHowever, there’s no silver bullet at the moment and there might never be. For now, stopping outbreaks comes down to the basics of public health.ā€Ā 

Tedros went on to stress the importance of ā€œtesting, isolating, and treating patients and tracing and quarantining their contacts.ā€

See Tedros’ remarks below:

Tedros’ latest remarks follow repeated warnings about the lack of unity between nations as the coronavirus continues to spread internationally.

Advertisement

In July, Tedros urged leaders to unify as he posed the question: ā€œHow is it difficult for humans to unite and fight a common enemy that is killing people indiscriminately?ā€

In April, Tedros also warned against politicizing the coronavirus as President Donald Trump ripped into the agency and its connection to China.

ā€œPlease don’t politicize this virus,ā€ Tedros said, adding, ā€œThe focus of all political parties should be to save their people.ā€

He also warned that politicization of the coronavirus could lead to ā€œmore body bags.ā€

ā€œIf you want to be exploited and if you want to have many more body bags, then you ,ā€ the WHO leader said. ā€œIf you don’t want many more body bags, then you refrain from politicizing it.ā€

As of Monday morning, there are more than 18 million coronavirus cases worldwide including 4.8 million cases in the United States. The international death toll is also approaching 700,000.