WHO castigates “ vaccine nationalism ” in final fight against hoarding

GENEVA / MANILA (Reuters) – Countries that stockpile possible COVID-19 vaccines while excluding others will worsen the pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday, by issuing a final appeal to countries to join a global vaccine pact.

WHO has set August 31 as the deadline for richer countries to join the COVAX Global Vaccines Facility to share vaccine hopes with developing countries. Tedros said he sent a letter to the 194 WHO member states urging them to participate.

The World Health Agency has also raised concerns that the spread of the pandemic is now being driven by younger people, many of whom were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups. .

Tedros’ pressure for nations to join COVAX comes as the European Union, Britain, Switzerland and the United States strike deals with companies testing potential vaccines. Russia and China are also working on vaccines, and the WHO is concerned that national interests are hampering global efforts.

“We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” Tedros said in a virtual briefing. “Sharing scarce supplies strategically and globally is actually in the national interest of each country.”

The European Commission has urged EU states to bypass the WHO-led initiative, citing concerns over its cost and speed.

More than 21.9 million people are believed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide and 772,647 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

‘DO NOT PULL THE ARMS’

So far, the COVAX installation has attracted interest from 92 poorer countries hoping for voluntary donations and 80 richer countries, a figure little changed from a month ago, which would fund the program, said the WHO.

Still, some countries are waiting for the August 31 deadline before committing, as facility terms are still being finalized, said Bruce Aylward, who heads WHO’s ACT Accelerator initiative to accelerate the process. supply of COVID-19 diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.

“We don’t twist our arms for people to join in,” Aylward said. “We had more and more discussions with a growing group of actors … to overcome obstacles to collaboration – pricing issues, timing issues, issues with national expectations.”

With more than 150 vaccines in development, around two dozen human studies and a handful of late-stage trials, the WHO has said that even countries signing bilateral agreements are increasing their chances of joining COVAX.

“Which will be the successful candidate, we don’t know yet,” said Mariangela Simao, WHO deputy director for access to medicines and vaccines. “By joining the establishment at the same time as you enter into bilateral agreements, you are in fact betting on a greater number of vaccine candidates.”

COVAX now covers nine vaccine candidates.

WHO remains concerned that infections among young people are increasing globally, putting the elderly and sick at risk in densely populated areas with weak health systems.

“The epidemic is changing,” said WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Takeshi Kasai. “People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly at the root of the spread.”