New Covid outbreaks a potential threat to global economic recovery: OECD chief

“We must do what we can to get as many people as we can, all around the world, vaccinated. There is a particular responsibility for developed economies and it’s not just a matter of charity or benevolence, it’s actually a matter of self interest both in terms of making sure we keep our populations safe ... and also to ensure the economic recovery can be sustained,” Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the OECD, said Thursday.

“New outbreaks are still one of the biggest downside risks in terms of the sustained economic recovery moving forward,” he told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach.

“There is a race on between getting as many people vaccinated all around the world including and in particular in developing economies and the risk of new variants appearing, and variants that may be resistant to the vaccines currently available,” he noted.

Cormann is not alone in worrying that the ongoing spread of Covid-19, particularly the latest highly transmissible delta variant among younger and unvaccinated people, could derail an economic recovery.

Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, told CNBC on Tuesday that “the single thing that might jeopardize the economic recovery in France is a new wave of the pandemic.”

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization reiterated its call for wealthier nations to help poorer countries by sharing Covid vaccines, particularly for health and care workers, and the elderly.

SOURCE: CNBC