WHO Chief Implores Rich Nations—Like The U.S.— To Not Vaccinate Children And Teens Against Covid And Donate Doses For Poorer Countries

WHO Chief Implores Rich Nations—Like The U.S.— To Not Vaccinate Children And Teens Against Covid And Donate Doses For Poorer Countries

Share to Linkedin As a handful of rich countries hoard the world's Covid-19 vaccine supplies and start to immunize lower risk groups and authorize shots for use in children, the head of the World Health Organization implored them to reconsider and instead donate the much-needed supplies to the organization's vaccine-sharing initiative, Covax. At present, just 0. 3% of the world's vaccine supply goes to low-income countries because a "handful of rich countries" have already "bought up the majority of the vaccine supply," WHO head Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday. Tedros said hospitals in low and middle-income countries like India, Egypt and Cambodia are being overwhelmed, "inundated with people that need lifesaving care" and lacking the supplies to vaccinate even health and care workers. Tedros said that while he was vaccinated against Covid-19 this week, such uneven distribution of supplies across the globe made it a "bittersweet moment." He urged wealthy countries vaccinating increasingly low-risk members of the population—many with plans to extend coverage to even lower risk teens and children—to reconsider. Rather than vaccinating children and teens, Tedros implored the countries to donate the supplies to the WHO-led vaccine-sharing initiative, Covax. Tedros described the inequality in vaccine distribution as