Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), struck an optimistic chord during the UN General Assembly’s first high-level session on the Covid-19 pandemic yesterday.

He said that positive results from the coronavirus vaccine trials mean the world “can begin to dream about the end of the pandemic”, adding: “The light at the end of the tunnel is growing steadily brighter.”

But he warned that rich and powerful nations must not trample the poor and marginalised “in the stampede for vaccines”.

Dr Tedros cautioned that “the path ahead remains treacherous”, and said: “[Vaccines] must be shared equally as global public goods, not as private commodities that widen inequalities and become yet another reason some people are left behind.”

He also said many countries had been unprepared for the pandemic despite years of warnings, and assumed their health systems would protect their people.

Countries that did well in responding to the crisis had experience with outbreaks of SARS, MERS, H1N1, and other infectious diseases, he added.

A WHO commission established in September is reviewing international health regulations. The organisation is also working with a number of countries to develop a pilot programme in which countries agree to regular and transparent reviews of their health preparedness, said Dr Tedros.

Scientists have accused the government of risking an increase in vaccine hesitancy among members of the public by making “widely inappropriate comments” about the “brilliance” of the UK becoming the first west country to approve a Covid-19 jab.

Independent Sage – which was set up to shadow the official Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – urged a public health campaign from the government to combat vaccine hesitancy and questions over the rollout.

Our Political Correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports:

Russia has begun its Covid-19 vaccination programme in Moscow, using its own Sputnik V vaccine.

The city’s coronavirus task force said the vaccine would first be made available to medical staff, teachers and social workers due to the high risk of exposure.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his personal website on Friday that 5,000 people signed up for the jab within the first five hours of registrations being opened.

Sputnik V was registered in August, but it still undergoing phase three clinical trials. Concerns have been raised about the speed at which Russia developed its vaccine, as it gave the regulatory green light and launched mass vaccinations before full trials to test its safety and efficacy had been completed.

President Vladimir Putin touted Sputnik V as the “world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus” and said one of his daughters tried the vaccine in August.

Russia has recorded more than 2.3 million Covid-19 infections, the fourth-highest in the world after the US, India and Brazil.

Get ready to start staffing coronavirus vaccination centres by 14 December, GP surgeries have been told in a letter.

The letter, sent out across England’s primary care networks, NHS England and NHS Improvement, warned that the “scale and complexity” of the upcoming vaccination programme would be “one of the greatest challenges” the NHS has ever had to contend with.

Signed by Dr Nikita Kanani, medical director for primary care are NHS England and NHS Improvement, and Ed Waller, director of primary care at the same institutions, the letter emphasised the need for preparation now to “allow priority patient cohorts to start accessing the vaccine”.

Vaccination sites must stand ready to administer 975 jabs to priority patients within three-and-a-half days of delivery on 14 December.

Over-80s will be the first to receive the vaccination in the centres. The number of vaccination sites in each clinical commissioning group (CCG) area will vary according to the number of residents there who are over 80.

The letter also said each centre would be supplied with the “IT equipment necessary to deliver the programme and a fridge” that can keep the vaccine at the required stabilising temperatures of between 2C to 8C.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is usually stored at -70C, and can only remain at the fridge temperature for a limited period of time.

£150m in funding is available to ensure there are enough staff and resources for GPs to meet their usual obligations and deliver the vaccine programme, the letter added.

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s live blog following the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic.