By Jerry Omondi
75 percent of the world’s vaccine supply has been administered in only 10 countries while low-income states have vaccinated barely 2 percent of their populations, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom warned at a media briefing on COVID-19 that the world’s response to the pandemic would continue to be divided if rich nations do not consider the situation in the low-income nations.
Adhanom reiterated that there was no need for countries to begin administering booster shots at the expense of supply to low- and middle-income countries.
“The virus is evolving and it is not in the best interests of leaders just to focus on narrow nationalistic goals when we live in an interconnected world and the virus is mutating quickly,” the WHO chief said.
“In fact, strong national leadership would be to fully commit to vaccine equity and global solidarity, which would save lives and slow variants down.”
Adhanom expressed concern over reports that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines that were filled and finished in South Africa were leaving the continent for Europe “where virtually all adults have been offered vaccines at this point.”
He called on the J&J to prioritize distribution of their vaccines to Africa before considering supplies to rich countries that already have sufficient access.
“To overcome these fragile times we must do better at sharing resources and health tools,” he said.
By Wednesday, the number of COVID-19 infections globally had surpassed the 208.90 million mark, with deaths exceeding 4.38 million.