As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise worldwide, Dr. Mike Ryan, director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Program, called on rich nations on Wednesday to help bridge a global health gap. vaccine inequity.
“There are populations that want and need vaccines that won’t get them unless we start sharing them better,” Ryan said during a virtual Wednesday of questions and answers.
In the 36 days since countries began vaccinating, 28 million doses of vaccine have been administered, he said. According to Ryan, of the 46 countries currently vaccinated, only one is a low-income country.
“We really have to look at this in terms of equity,” Ryan said.
Ryan added that there were 5 million new cases of Covid-19 and 85,000 virus-related deaths worldwide last week.
“Basically, all regions, except Southeast Asia, are increasing,” Ryan said, noting that the Americas continue to account for half of new cases and 45 percent of deaths worldwide.
“We’ve seen that perfect storm of the season, the cold, the people going inside, an increase in the social mix and a combination of factors that have driven increased transmission to many, many countries,” Ryan said.
“It’s interesting when we talk about tolerance, kindness and solidarity, which are probably the most powerful countermeasures we have right now,” he added. “You have to have the attitude that this disease kills me.”