IMF urges decisive govt actions to ensure swift vaccine rollouts

Washington, Jan 29 : Decisive government actions are necessary to ensure swift and extensive vaccine rollout, protect the most vulnerable households and otherwise viable firms, and foster a durable and inclusive recovery, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating in many countries and uncertainty is unusually high,” Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, and his three colleagues wrote in a blog published on Thursday.
“Global cooperation on producing and widely distributing treatments and vaccines to all countries at low cost is crucial,” Gaspar said.
“The sooner the global pandemic ends, the quicker economies can return to normal and people will need less government support.” According to the Fiscal Monitor update, global fiscal support reached nearly $14 trillion as of end December 2020, up by about $2.2 trillion since October 2020.
“Covid-19 was an enormous disturbance to all countries around the world. Tax revenues have shrunk quite substantially,” Gaspar told Xinhua, calling such fast and strong fiscal actions “absolutely necessary” to help contain the pandemic and to avoid a financial crisis.