UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants a vaccine for COVID-19 to be available to all people around the world, said his spokesman on Monday.

"It needs to be available for all -- for moral reasons but also that none of us will be safe until all of us are safe," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman.

There is competition among different developers, which is good. There is cooperation, which is even better, he told a virtual press briefing. "I think the critical part is when we do have a vaccine that works, that the vaccine is available to all, that the vaccine itself doesn't make the gap between the haves and the have-nots even greater."

The UN secretary-general has been in touch with the World Health Organization, which is in the lead on this issue, said the spokesman.

"We want to make sure that the vaccine does not exacerbate the issues of inequality when it actually arrives and that it is shared for the benefit of all," he said.