GENEVA (AP) – The head of the World Health Organization on Monday denounced the benefits and inequalities of vaccines from drug manufacturers, saying it was “not right” that younger, healthier adults in rich countries be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the elderly or health workers in the poorest countries and accusing most vaccine manufacturers of moving to places where “the benefits are higher”.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus kicked off the WHO executive board meeting for a week, virtually from its Geneva headquarters, lamenting that a poor country received only 25 doses of vaccine while they were being administered. more than 39 million doses in nearly 50 richer countries.
“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,” Tedros said. He did not specify the country, but a WHO spokeswoman identified him as Guinea.
“It is right that all governments want to prioritize the vaccination of their own health workers and the elderly,” he said. “But it is not right for younger and healthier adults in rich countries to be vaccinated before health professionals and older people in poorer countries. There will be enough vaccine for everyone. “
Tedros, an Ethiopian who bears his first name, nonetheless hailed the scientific achievement of the introduction of coronavirus vaccines less than a year after the pandemic eruption in China, where it is now has deployed a WHO-backed team to examine the origins of the coronavirus.
“Vaccines are the arm shot we all need, literally and figuratively,” Tedros said. “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.”
He noted that the COVAX program, supported by the WHO, which aims to deliver vaccines to all countries, rich or poor, as needed, has so far secured 2 billion doses of vaccine from five producers and options. for a billion more doses.
“We aim to start deliveries in February,” he said. “COVAX is ready to deliver what was created.”
This target date could be a high order, because a key producer of vaccines for the developing world – the Serum Institute of India – has not confirmed a date and predicted that its release may not take place before March or April. .
In his initial statements, Tedros issued some of his harshest public words to vaccine manufacturers, criticizing the “bilateral agreements” between them and countries that the WHO says may exhaust the facility’s effectiveness. COVAX – and went further to raise the issue of benefits.
“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that most manufacturers have prioritized regulatory approval in rich countries, where benefits are higher, rather than submitting complete dossiers to the WHO,” he said.
This seemed to allude to the paucity of data that the UN health agency says it has received from vaccine manufacturers so that the WHO can approve its features for wider emergency use.
Dr. Clement Martin Auer, a member of the Austrian board of directors, had sharp words and questions for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, which also with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations leads the effort on COVAX.
Despite calling his principles of equal access to vaccines a “fantastic idea,” Auer accused COVAX of being “slow” and unable to close “a crucial number” of contracts. He advocated for the European Union, which has 27 of the world’s richest countries, to get vaccines for its 450 million citizens and be “the single largest donor” in supporting COVAX.
“We were, in the European Union, skeptical that GAVI-COVAX had the means and capabilities to fulfill its tasks and negotiate the necessary contracts and ensure the needs of our citizens,” Auer said, adding that the management of COVAX had “rejected” proposals negotiated by GAVI and the EU.
He said GAVI-COVAX earlier this year had not included mRNA vaccines like those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in COVAX’s portfolio.
“This was a major mistake, given that mRNAs are the first in the market and gold standards when it comes to COVID vaccines,” Auer said.
The WHO has approved Pfzier-BioNTech for emergency use against coronavirus and could approve Modern this week.
WHO officials or other board members did not immediately address Tedros’ concerns at the meeting.
In vaccine-related news, Israel has struck a deal with Pfizer, promising to share vast medical data with the international drug giant in exchange for the continued flow of its hard-to-get vaccine.
Proponents say the deal could allow Israel to become the first country to vaccinate most of its population, while providing valuable research that could help the rest of the world. But critics say the deal raises major ethical concerns, including possible violations of privacy and deepening the global divide over access to coronavirus vaccines.
Due to the ultra-cold storage required for the Pfizer vaccine, it is more expensive and difficult to use than some rivals, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, but studies show that it is very effective. Israeli media have reported that Israel paid at least 50% more than other countries for the Pfizer vaccine.
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Ashok Sharma in Delhi and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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