Coronavirus: They ask rich countries to distribute vaccines about to expire | More than 100 million doses could go wrong in December

The inequality of access to vaccines developed against covid-19 represents one of the biggest obstacles to controlling the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus globally. As it turns out, while richer countries have bought far more serum than is needed to immunize their populations, most low- and middle-income countries have few doses to protect their vulnerable populations. and health professionals.

Despite repeated calls from the World Health Organization (WHO) for a more equitable distribution of vaccines, key world leaders have yet to respond to the call for attention. However, recently the issue has returned to the center of debate since it became known that over 100 million doses of “saved” vaccines will soon expire and be “thrown away” because there are no citizens to inoculate.

The information was disseminated by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in the days leading up to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which will be held this Wednesday in New York, and called for Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and European Union leaders to agree “urgently” on a plan for the distribution of stored doses and thus prevent the world from facing a “vaccine waste catastrophe”.

Brown, according to the news agency Reuters, sent his G7 colleagues research developed by Airfinity, a society of information and scientific analysis which reveals that more than 100 million vaccines stored by rich countries in the northern hemisphere will expire next December without being used.

“It is unthinkable and inconceivable that 100 million vaccines should be eliminated from the stocks of rich countries while the populations of the world’s poorest countries will pay for our vaccines wasted in lives lostLamented the former British official, recently appointed WHO’s ambassador for global health financing.

And I add: “It will be a deep and collective political tragedy if this summit loses the opportunity to act, with doses transferred immediately to the poorest countries ”.

Vaccine inequality

According to the available data, of the 5.7 billion vaccines administered worldwide, only 2% correspond to countries on the African continent. “We need a plan to get the vaccines out quickly,” said Brown.

Data from the aforementioned survey predict that if there is no acceleration in vaccine distribution around the world, there will be over 100 million cases of coronavirus next summer and one million deaths. additional due to the lack of medical oxygen and respirators.

“No one is safe anywhere until everyone is safe everywhere. It is in everyone’s best interest everywhere that President Biden and his fellow G7 leaders do everything in their power to eradicate COVID-19 from all corners of the world, ”Brown concluded.

On a related note, last month, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a global hiatus in anti-covid vaccine booster programs until at least the end of the year to allow all countries to vaccinate more of their populations.

Tedros said there should not be widespread use of third doses for healthy people who already have the full schedule.

The remarks came after it became known that Covax, the WHO-backed program to help distribute vaccines in developing countries, lowered its dose delivery forecast by a quarter for this year.