WHO urges fairer COVID vaccine distribution
(VOVWORLD) - The world is on the brink of “catastrophic moral failure” in sharing COVID-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the prospects of equitable distribution are at “serious risk”, just as its COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme is about to start distributing inoculations. Tedros said more than 39 million vaccine doses have been administered in 49 higher-income countries, whereas just 25 doses have been delivered in one poor country.
COVID-19 caused more than 96 million infections and claimed more than 2 million lives as of Tuesday, according to the wordometer website. The US remains the hardest-hit country with more than 24 million cases, followed by India with 10.5 million and Brazil with 8.5 million.