UK will only deliver half of promised vaccine donations at current rates

UK will only deliver half of promised vaccine donations at current rates

The UK is set to break its promise on international vaccination donations – and only deliver half of its pledge of 100 million by June 2022, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus said the UK could vaccinate its population three times over. On Monday the UK extended its booster programme to over 40s while only two per cent of people are fully vaccinated in lower-income countries. In September, the UK sat near the bottom of what critics called a “ league table of shame ” for donations. Yet two months later, and five months on from Boris Johnson’s initial G7 pledge , the UK has still only donated 20 million doses. Sixteen million of these – and 80 million of the overall amount – are earmarked for the Covax scheme. Covax has said the failure of richer countries to meet commitments is hampering its ability to plan and distribute vaccines across the globe. At the time of his announcement, the Prime Minister called on other governments to match his 100 million target. Now, MPs are demanding that his Government more than doubles the rate in which it is donating. Dr