‘Vaccine injustice’ – WHO berates countries offering booster shots against coronavirus



[ad_1]

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday urged the international community to delay the rollout of the Chinese coronavirus booster vaccines in a bid to preserve the global vaccine supply for poorest countries.

Tedros urged the world to participate in a “two-month moratorium” on the administration of Chinese coronavirus vaccine recalls while addressing reporters at a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Budapest, Hungary on August 23.

The WHO leader called on rich countries “to share what can be used for boosters with other countries so (they) can increase their first and second immunization coverage,” according to the Associated Press (AP).

Tedros revealed on Monday that “of the 4.8 billion [Chinese coronavirus] Vaccine doses delivered globally to date, 75 percent have only gone to 10 countries while immunization coverage in Africa is less than 2 percent.

A booster injection is an extra dose of a vaccine that a person receives after completing the recommended full dose of an inoculation. Several countries around the world, including the United States, have already started offering booster shots against the Chinese coronavirus or have announced their intention to do so in the near future.

Tedros argued on Monday that the persistence of “vaccine injustice” or the disparity between countries’ coronavirus inoculation rates, could lead to an increased risk of the emergence of more contagious strains of the Chinese coronavirus.

“The virus will have the chance to circulate in countries with low vaccination coverage, and the delta variant could evolve to become more virulent, and at the same time more potent variants could also emerge,” he said, referring to the Delta variant of the virus. Chinese coronavirus, a strain first detected in India earlier this year.

“In addition, there is debate over the effectiveness of booster injections,” Tedros added on Monday as he opposed additional doses of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine.

A rickshaw driver receives an injection of CoviShield coronavirus vaccine during a free driver vaccination campaign in Bangalore on August 25, 2021. (MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP via Getty)

The WHO, which is the official health body of the United Nations (UN), underscored this argument against booster injections on August 4, when Tedros first asked high-income countries not to offer to their populations of additional injections of Chinese coronavirus vaccine beyond the recommendation. dosage.

“[S]So far, there is no evidence that a booster dose adds immune benefits to people who already have the full course of vaccination, ”UN News reported on August 4, citing Dr. Jarbas Barbosa’s remarks, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), at a WHO press conference earlier that day.

Tedros called for “a moratorium on recalls until at least the end of September to allow at least 10 percent of the population in each country to be vaccinated,” at the same virtual press conference, which took place. held at UN Headquarters in New York. .



[ad_2]

Source link