Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021: statement of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission
Commissioners of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, Task Force Chairs and members of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, Commission Secretariat and Staff of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission
The Lancet COVID-19 Commission calls for three urgent actions in the COVID-19 response (our broader overview is available on our website). First, all regions with high rates of new COVID-19 cases, including the USA and the European Union (EU), should intensify measures to minimise community transmission alongside rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Second, governments should urgently and fully fund WHO and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, including COVAX. Third, the G20 countries should empower the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and multilateral development banks to increase the scale of financing and debt relief. Success on all three priorities—containment of transmission, rapid vaccination, and emergency finance—will require improved global cooperation.