Billion jabs to vaccinate world
WORLD leaders have backed Boris Johnson’s call for a stockpile of a billion Covid jabs to wipe out the pandemic.
The G7 Summit concluded yesterday with unanimous support for his proposals for sharing vaccines to combat the disease and ramping up international cooperation to block future health emergencies.
They also agreed to work together to help the economic recovery from Covid while ensuring green growth to tackle climate change.
A final statement from the leaders at the conclusion of the three-day gathering expressed determination “to beat Covid-19 and build back better”.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Johnson said the world was looking to its leaders to “reject some of the selfishness and nationalist approaches that have marred the initial global response to the pandemic”.
He urged them “to channel all our diplomatic, economic and scientific might into defeating Covid for good”.
He said vaccinating the entire world could be “greatest feat in medical history.” He added: “I do hope we have lived up to some of the most optimistic of hopes and predictions.”
Mr Johnson said G7 countries will work with the Covax international vaccines programme to roll out jabs across the world.
“I’m very pleased to announce that this weekend leaders have pledged over a billion doses, either directly or through funding to Covax – that includes 100 million from the UK – to the world’s poorest countries.
“And that’s in addition to everything scientists and governments and the pharmaceutical industry have done so far to roll out one of the largest vaccination programmes in history.” He praised the OxfordAstraZeneca jab, calling it “the world’s most popular vaccine”.
Mr Johnson said: “Today over half a billion people are safe because of the development and production of that vaccine, funded – I may add – by the UK Government. And that number is rising every day.”
He added: “This weekend our discussions went far beyond defeating the pandemic.
“We looked towards the great global recovery our countries have committed to lead, and we were clear that we all need to build back better in a way that delivers for all our people and for the people of the world.
“And that means preventing a pandemic like this from ever happening again, apart from anything else by establishing a global pandemic radar which will spot new diseases before they get the chance to spread.
“It means ensuring that our future prosperity benefits all the citizens of our countries and indeed all the citizens of the world.”
The G7 also backed plans for ensuring that every child in the world gets the chance of a proper education.