WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a bilateral meeting with Swiss Minister of Interior and Health Alain Berset on the sidelines of the opening of the 74th session of the World Health Assembly at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 24, 2021. Laurent Gillieron/Paul via Reuters
GENEVA (June 25) (Reuters) – Rich countries are opening up their societies and vaccinating young people who are not at high risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Friday, while the poorest countries struggle hard from the doses. .
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the situation in Africa, where new infections and deaths rose by about 40% last week compared to the previous week, is “extremely serious” as the delta variant is spreading worldwide.
“Our world is failing and the international community is failing,” he said at a press conference.
Tedros, who is Ethiopian, criticized unnamed countries for reluctance to share cans with low-income nations. Compare it to the HIV/AIDS crisis when some argued that African countries could not use complex treatments.
“I mean, this situation must be a thing of the past,” Tedros said. “The problem now is a supply problem, just give us the vaccines.”
“The difference between the haves and have-nots that now fully reveal the injustices in our world – injustice and inequality, let’s face it,” he said.
Mike Ryan, the WHO’s chief emergency expert, said many developing countries are much better than developed countries at vaccinating their general populations against infectious diseases from cholera to polio.
“The level of patriarchy, the level of the colonial mentality that says, ‘We can’t give you something because we’re afraid you won’t use it. “I mean, in the middle of a pandemic?”
The Global Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization that it jointly manages have shipped 90 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 132 countries since February, but they have faced major delivery problems since India stopped exporting the vaccines. Continue reading
“With COVAX this month we do not have any doses of AstraZeneca (AZN.L) Vaccines, zero doses of SII (Serum Institute of India) vaccines, zero doses of J&J. (JNJ.N) (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine,” said Bruce Aylward, Senior Adviser to the World Health Organization.
“It’s bad now.”
Written by Stephanie Nebhay and Editing by Raisa Kasulowski
Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.