Coronavirus: WHO chief seeks to end ‘scandalous inequity’ over vaccines
- Some 3 in 4 shots administered around the world come from just 10 nations, director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the WHO’s annual health summit
- His comments came as world leaders were rallying around efforts to strengthen the agency and the world’s ability to respond to pandemics
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that no country should assume that it’s “out of the woods”, no matter its vaccination rate, as long as the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants spread elsewhere.
“The world remains in a very dangerous situation,” Tedros told the opening of the annual assembly of health ministers from its 194 member states.
“As of today, more cases have been reported so far this year than in the whole of 2020. On current trends, the number of deaths will overtake last year’s total within the next three weeks. This is very tragic,” he said.
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The Covax facility, run by WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance, has delivered 72 million vaccine doses to 125 countries and economies since February – barely sufficient for 1 per cent of their populations, Tedros said.
