Coronavirus: The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Francesco Rocca, warned on Monday that misinformation and mistrust could hinder efforts to distribute a coronavirus vaccine around the world, even as countries scramble to secure doses for their populations.

Speaking at a virtual news conference ahead of a United Nations meeting on the virus this week, Mr. Rocca argued that since the start of the pandemic, high levels of mistrust of health authorities “clearly facilitated transmission of the virus at all levels.”

For example, many people refused to wear face masks or practice social distancing.

The same dynamics could create a disaster if vaccine distribution is not handled properly, he said. The challenge is compounded by growing hesitancy about vaccines in general.

For that reason, Mr. Rocca said, his organization shared the widespread sense of relief and optimism that has come with the progress in vaccine development , but with “a dose of caution.”

“To beat this pandemic, we also have to defeat the parallel pandemic of distrust,” he said.

Mr. Rocca also called for greater efforts to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines around the world — and criticized the “vaccine nationalism” of wealthy countries that bought up massive quantities of vaccines in exclusive deals with pharmaceutical companies. He called on all governments — including the incoming administration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. — to join a global immunization effort known as Covax.

“I would like to repeat here our urgent warning to all governments: None of us are safe until all of us are safe,” he said.
— Karen Zraick The New York Times