CNBC reports that the OECD’s secretary-general has warned that new outbreaks of Covid-19 remain one of the top risks to a global economic recovery.

“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.

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

“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.