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WHO accuses rich countries of 'skipping line' on vaccines

2021-01-27T11:49:37.218Z


The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accused rich countries of trying to skip the line for the distribution of coronavirus vaccines.


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(CNN) -

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused rich countries of trying to jump the line for the distribution of coronavirus vaccines and described equitable distribution around the world. as an essential and moral imperative to end the pandemic.

At a session of the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly on Wednesday, Tedros said that "the promise of equitable access is in serious jeopardy."

  • Pfizer and AstraZeneca receive heavy criticism as delays with covid-19 vaccines threaten Europe's recovery

"A 'me first' approach leaves the world's poorest and most vulnerable at risk," he said, adding that it is also counterproductive.

"Many countries have bought more vaccines than they need."

"Now we face the real danger that while vaccines bring hope to those who live in rich countries, much of the world could be left behind," added Tedros.

He said that some companies and countries were making bilateral agreements in an attempt to jump to the front of the line.

This is driving up prices and means that they are "turning around" the COVAX mechanism, a WHO program that buys vaccines in bulk for distribution to the poorest countries.

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Seventy-five per cent of the doses distributed have been distributed in just 10 countries, Tedros said, and it is not correct that younger, healthier adults in rich countries can get the vaccine before health workers and older people in countries poorer, he added.

The emergence of new variants of Covid-19 has made rapid and equitable implementation of vaccines even more important, he added.

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Tedros said the WHO COVAX program had secured contracts for 2 billion doses from five producers this year and has options for 1 billion additional doses next year.

He said the first deliveries of doses purchased through the program should take place next month.

However, he added that the WHO still needs funds to complete the purchases contracted for this year.

COVAX needs to have access to those doses soon, not to the "leftovers many months from now," Tedros said.

PHOTOS |

This is how the coronavirus vaccine is applied in the world

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A police officer talks to a nurse before receiving the coronavirus vaccine at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the United States.

(Scott Eisen / Getty Images)

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Medical workers from the Maccabi Health vaccination center apply doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in a parking lot in the Givatayim shopping center in Tel Aviv, Israel.

(JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

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Medical workers line up to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine at Battalion 22 of the Military Hospital in Mexico City.

(PEDRO PARDO / AFP via Getty Images)

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A woman receives a dose of the vaccine on the VACCI'BUS, a bus that goes to towns around the city of Reims, in France, so that people with reduced mobility can easily receive the vaccine.

(FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP via Getty Images)

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An employee of the refrigerator manufacturer Kanou Reiki checks the freezers where vaccines will be stored in Sagamihara, Japan.

(BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP via Getty Images)

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The vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, received the second dose of Moderna's vaccine on Tuesday in Bethesda, Maryland.

(BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

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Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi (right) watches Myint Htwe, Minister of Health and Sports, receive the vaccine in Naypyidaw, Burma.

(THET AUNG / AFP via Getty Images)

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A man registers for the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine at the temporary vaccination center at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England.

(OLI SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)

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A woman waits to be registered at the regional vaccination center in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

(THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP via Getty Images)

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Seniors wait to be vaccinated at a nursing home in Langreo, Spain.

(Manu Brabo / Getty Images)

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People wait in line to be vaccinated at a vaccination center in Los Angeles, California.

(Mario Tama / Getty Images)

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Older people wait to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a nursing home in Sofia, Bulgaria.

(DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP via Getty Images)

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A nurse prepares to inoculate her colleague with the Pfizer vaccine at Hospital Santo Tomás in Panama City.

(LUIS ACOSTA / AFP via Getty Images)

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People receive doses of the vaccine from Washington National Guard doctors at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington.

(David Ryder / Getty Images)

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People sit waiting to be vaccinated at the Jiading Stadium in Shanghai.

(JESSICA YANG / AFP via Getty Images)

WHO Coronavirus vaccine

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-01-27

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