The World Health Organization on Friday urged rich countries to stop jumping the queue and cutting their own deals with manufacturers to hog the first wave of Covid-19 vaccines, reports AFP.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that right from the outset, wealthier nations had snapped up most of the supply of multiple vaccine products — potentially bumping up the price for everyone else battling the coronavirus pandemic.
He called on states that have booked excess vaccine doses to free them up for the globally-shared Covax programme, which aims to distribute vaccines equitably around the world, regardless of wealth.
“There’s a clear problem that low- and most middle-income countries are not receiving the vaccine yet,” Tedros told a virtual news conference from WHO’s headquarters in Geneva.
“At the outset, rich countries have bought up the majority of the supply of multiple vaccines.”
Tedros said 42 countries had started rolling out their Covid-19 vaccination programme — 36 high-income nations and six middle-income states.
“I urge countries that have contracted more vaccines than they will need, and are controlling the global supply, to also donate and release them to Covax immediately, which is ready today to roll out quickly,” he said.
“And I urge countries and manufacturers to stop making bilateral deals at the expense of Covax.
“No country is exceptional and should cut the queue and vaccinate all their population, while some remain with no supply of the vaccine.”
