The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned what he called inequity in the global distribution of vaccines during the international group’s executive board meeting on Monday.
The Associated Press reports the Director-General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus it was lamented that a poorer country, identified by a WHO spokesperson as Guinea, had so far only received 25 doses of coronavirus vaccines, while almost 50 richer countries had already administered about 40 million doses.
“Only 25 doses have been given in a lower-income country – not 25 million, not 25,000 – only 25. I need to be blunt: the world is on the brink of catastrophic moral failure,” said Tedros, who passes for the first time name.
“It is right that all governments want to prioritize the vaccination of their own health workers and the elderly. But it is not right for younger and healthier adults in rich countries to be vaccinated before health workers and older people in poorer countries. There will be enough vaccine for everyone, “Tedros added.
“Vaccines are the arm shot we all need, literally and figuratively,” he said, praising the achievement of creating a vaccine less than a year after the worldwide pandemic broke out.
“But now we face the real danger that even when vaccines bring hope to some, they become another brick in the wall of inequality between the worlds of the world they have and don’t have.”
According to Tedros, COVAX, a WHO-supported program that seeks to distribute vaccines to all countries as needed, has secured 2 billion vaccines from five producers. Deliveries are expected to begin in February.
Tedros criticized vaccine manufacturers because they seemed to prioritize benefits over accessibility, saying, “The situation adds to the fact that most manufacturers have prioritized regulatory approval in rich countries, where benefits are higher. , instead of submitting complete dossiers to the WHO “.
Last week the pandemic surpassed 2 million coronavirus-related deaths as multiple strains continue to emerge around the world, including the UK, South Africa and Japan.
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has warned that the COVID-19 guidelines are still to be followed throughout this year, even as vaccines become more available.
“It’s really important to remind people, both the government and the people, of the responsibilities and measures we need to take at least the rest of this year, because even when vaccines start protecting the most vulnerable, they don’t we will achieve all levels of population immunity, herd immunity, by 2021, ”Swaminathan said.