Need to Vaccinate 10% Population of All Countries by September, 40% by Year End: WHO Chief
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London: With rising concern over the Delta variant spreading to countries around the world, WHO chief DrTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday called for vaccinating at least 10 percent of the population of every country against coronavirus by September as it is the best way to control the pandemic and reboot the global economy.
“Vast inequities in the access to vaccines are fuelling a two-track pandemic. While some countries have reached a high level of coverage, many others don’t have enough to vaccinate health workers, older people & other at-risk groups,” said the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, addressing a virtual address to India Global Forum.
When some countries cannot vaccinate, it’s a threat to all countries, said Ghebreyesus calling for a global effort to vaccinate at least 10 percent of each country's population by September and at least 40 percent by the end of the year. He highlighted that this way we could reach at least 70 percent by the middle of next year.
“Until we end the pandemic everywhere, we will not end it anywhere,” says WHO Chief
“Vaccine equity is not just the right thing to do. It’s the best way to control the pandemic and reboot the global economy,” the WHO chief said and warned that “until we end the [COVID-19] pandemic everywhere, we will not end it anywhere.”
According to a recent UN report, COVID-19 vaccination rates are extremely uneven across countries, ranging from below 1 percent population in some to above 60 percent in others.
As richer nations have locked up billions of doses through direct contracts with drug manufacturers, the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine campaign has also faced a slow start. So far, COVAX has distributed just 81 million doses globally, mainly in Africa.
