We are now in the last two weeks of December, 2020. After a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO)   said  three regions of the world continue to have rising  infections and deaths – Europe with a nearly 100 percent increase in deaths per week; the Americas, particularly  the United States, 54 percent; and Africa, 50 percent. But  with the start of mass vaccinations in Britain and soon in the US,  there is hope that  the global situation will soon start  improving. The production of vaccines against a disease that was completely unknown a year ago was an “astounding scientific achievement,”  Michael  Ryan, WHO emergencies director,  said, considering that it usually takes years  to develop a vaccine for a new disease. The UK, US, and other  rich  nations have been able to buy the initial supplies of the new vaccines. The   WHO has set up a scheme  to  speed  up development of COVID-19 vaccines and distribute them evenly  among 189 countries regardless of wealth. The WHO-led scheme – COVAX -- aims to secure vaccines for 20 percent of the population in each country by the end of next year. With WHO in COVAX is the Coalition fot Epidemic Preparedness innovations.  Further deals are planned to help the world’s poorer nations, the WHO said. In  the Philippines, cases continue to  rise in some parts of the country. The OCTA  Research Group of the University  of the Philippines said this may  be due to overcrowding in public places, lax implementation of health protocols, and  “pandemic fatigue” – some people no longer following safety measures.  “What we do now as individuals and citizens is more important in the next two weeks than any  intervention  the government does,” OCTA member Ranjit Rye said. What we do now in the next two weeks will be in relation to the Christmas festivities that Filipinos traditionally carry out at this time of the year. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has  urged people around the world to keep up their guard against COVID-19 in these last two weeks of December. “The festive season is a time to relax and celebrate but celebration can quickly turn to sadness if we fail to take the right precautions,” he said. “As you prepare to celebrate over the coming weeks, please consider your plans  very  carefully. If you live in  an  area with high transmissions, please  take every precaution to keep yourselves and others safe. That could be the best gift  you could  give—the gift of health.” These last two weeks of the year  are thus a critical time for the pandemic and  the WHO emphasizes that a great deal of the responsibility  rests on individuals. Our government has issued restrictions especially for the more critical areas, but ultimately, it  all boils down to every  individual who must  do his part with three basic steps – wear a face  mask in public, keep your distance, and constantly wash your hands --  “Mask. Iwas, Hugas.”