The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday, January 28, at a public school in The Bronx, a few miles uptown from UN Headquarters in New York.

In a tweet, Mr. Guterres expressed his gratitude and good fortune at receiving the jab, and urged the international community to ensure that vaccines become available to everyone, on an equitable basis.

He wrote: "We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. With this pandemic, none of us is safe until all of us are safe."

The 71-year-old was eligible to receive the vaccine on the basis of his age.

As noted, New York residents over the age of 65 are included in the current phase of vaccinations in the city, which also includes school workers, first responders, public transit workers and grocery workers.

In December, Guterres declared that he would happily receive the vaccine in public, and said that, for him, vaccination is a moral obligation.

"Each one of us provides a service to the whole community”, he said, "because there is no longer a risk of spreading the disease.”

Vaccine hesitancy

According to the UN, Guterres received his shot at a time when many countries are seeing a significant proportion of their citizens expressing "vaccine hesitancy”.

It is noted that UN regional offices have noted "a significant level of mistrust" and, in some countries, including Japan and several European nations, around half the population are reportedly unsure about getting a Covid-19 vaccine at this stage.

For example, reports indicate that by Wednesday, the French government had inoculated fewer than 1.2 million of its 67 million people, well behind the EU average, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

Accordingly, a December Ipsos-World Economic Forum poll found just 40 per cent of French people want to be inoculated against COVID-19. In China, it’s 80 per cent; in Britain, 77 per cent. An Angus Reid poll found 79 per cent of Canadians are willing to be vaccinated.

Commenting on the UN chief’s vaccination appointment on behalf of the Mayor’s Office, Penny Abeywardena, Commissioner for International Affairs, said that she was heartened that the Secretary-General had secured his appointment online, and received the vaccine in a New York City public school, in the same manner as many other city residents.

"This will go a long way in building trust in our communities that the vaccine is safe for all,” she said.

Meanwhile, last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the fight against Covid-19 pandemic in Africa could suffer setbacks amid inadequate access to vaccines occasioned by hoarding by rich nations.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said that Covid-19 vaccines' buying frenzy by rich economies might limit access in the continent and undermine efforts to contain the pandemic.

"We first, not me first is the only way to end the pandemic. Vaccine hoarding will only prolong the ordeal and delay Africa's recovery," Moeti said in a statement issued in Nairobi.