WHO calls for pause on COVID-19 booster shots in wealthier countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for a moratorium on COVID-19 booster shots in wealthy nations through at least the end of September as poor countries struggle with access to vaccines.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday he would like to see at least 10 percent of the population of every country vaccinated before booster shots are administered.
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the delta variant,” Tedros said. “But we cannot, and we should not, accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected.”
Tedros and the WHO have long warned about vaccine inequities and have criticized wealthy countries for even discussing booster shots while some of the most vulnerable areas of the world struggle with getting even health workers vaccinated.
Key stat: Of the more than 4 billion doses that have been administered, more than 80 percent have gone to high- and upper-middle income countries, even though they account for less than half of the world’s population.
State of play: There are a very limited number of countries that have begun administering booster doses but a far larger number of countries, including the United States, are contemplating it. WHO officials and public health advocates have repeatedly stressed that unequal distribution of vaccines will prolong the pandemic, and create an environment where variants can emerge and spread.
