Delay vaccines for young to give supply to poorer nations, says WHO
THE head of the World Health Organisation has warned that the world is on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” if wealthier nations don’t ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who repeatedly has warned richer countries against excluding poorer ones by cutting bilateral deals with vaccine suppliers, took his rhetoric up a notch in his opening remarks at an executive board session.
“I need to be blunt: the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure – and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries,” he said, noting that while 39 million doses of vaccine have been administered in more than 40 higher-income countries, one poor country has so far given out just 25 doses.
While Dr Tedros hailed the vaccine rollout as a great scientific achievement, he noted that there were lessons to be learned from past global pandemics when vaccines took a long time to reach developing countries.
The current crisis was a chance to “rewrite history,” by ensuring vaccines are distributed fairly between countries and to those who need them the most.
WHO has partnered with several vaccine makers to provide two billion doses to a consortium of low-income countries in an initiative dubbed Covax, but Dr Tedros said there are concerns the vaccines won’t be delivered.
“Even as they speak the language of equitable access, some countries and companies continue to prioritise bilateral deals, going around Covax, driving up prices and attempting to jump to the front of the queue,” he said.
He called on wealthier countries to hold off on vaccinating their young and healthier adults so that older people and frontline health workers in developing countries could receive their doses of the vaccine. (© Washington Post)