UN Secretary calls unequal distribution of Covid vaccines across globe immoral and stupid
- Date: 07-Oct-2021
- Source: CNBC
- Sector:Healthcare
- Country:Middle East
UN Secretary calls unequal distribution of Covid vaccines across globe immoral and stupid
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the inequitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines across the globe Friday, saying it was immoral and stupid. Guterres spoke during a press briefing hosted by the World Health Organization where officials reiterated their goal of vaccinating 40% of every country's population by the end of the year and 70% by the middle of 2022. Vaccination rates have lagged behind the organization's targets in much of the developing world: Â WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that less than 5% of Africa's population has been fully vaccinated, while high- and upper-middle-income countries have used 75% of the shots produced so far. "Not to have equitable distribution of vaccines is not only a question of being immoral, it is also a question of being stupid," Guterres said. Read CNBC's latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic: Just 37% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, almost half the rate of Canada as emerging economies struggle to access the life-saving shots, Pan American Health Organization Director Wednesday. At least 10 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean reported vaccination rates of less than 25% as of Wednesday, and under 10% of