The World Health Organisation has warned of a widening gap between the number of coronavirus vaccines administered in wealthy countries and those distributed to poorer nations through the Covax initiative.
UN Health Agency Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: 'The gap between the number of vaccines administered in rich countries, and the number of vaccines administered through Covax is growing every single day'. He added that the inequitable distribution is 'not just a moral outrage, it's also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating'.
Tedros made the comments during a virtual conference hosted by the United Arab Emirates on Monday. He had called for all countries to begin vaccinating within the first 100 days of the year, but as that deadline nears, 36 countries are still to receive a single dose. Sixteen of those are scheduled to receive their first doses through Covax within the next two weeks, but the other 20 are expected to miss out.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also criticised nations for creating a 'stockpile' of Covid-19 vaccines, calling on them to share to help end the pandemic. Health officials have rolled out more than 510 million coronavirus vaccine doses worldwide.
The UN's children's agency UNICEF urged wealthier countries to ensure equitable distribution, with chief Henrietta Fore stating: 'We need wealthier nations to donate extra doses through Covax'. The Covax initiative, co-led by the WHO, Gavi and CEPI, has shipped more than 32 million doses so far, aiming for 238 million by the end of May.
