Richer countries urgently need to give more Covid vaccines to poorer nations. Otherwise you risk that new Covid-19 virus variants will emerge and force further lockdowns. Leading world bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO) warn of this in an article published in leading newspapers in wealthy countries appears.
In the absence of globally available vaccinations, a “dangerous gap” arises between richer and poorer nations, warn the authors. There is a risk that a “two-pronged” pandemic will arise: “A two-pronged pandemic is increasingly developing. The uneven distribution of vaccines not only leaves countless millions of people at the mercy of the virus, but also enables deadly variants to develop that can spread around the world. “
Even countries with advanced vaccination programs are forced to take tough measures to protect public health again. This is how experts see Great Britain because of the Indian variant before the third wave. This despite the fact that large parts of the population have been vaccinated and the country is planning to open completely on June 21.
99 percent of the vaccinations go to rich countries
Ahead of the G7 finance and health ministers’ summit in England this week, the authors are calling for $ 50 billion. The money will help developing countries with vaccination programs. The goal is to have vaccinated 60 percent of the world’s population by the middle of next year. To achieve this, “cans must be donated to developing countries immediately”. Investments in vaccine production are also required to produce an additional billion vaccines.
Poor nations have so far received less than one percent of the Covid vaccines administered worldwide. “It doesn’t have to be like that,” write the authors. “The $ 50 billion investment to end the pandemic is possibly the best use of public money we’ll see in our lifetime. It will pay a huge development dividend and increase growth and prosperity around the world. ” Then the warning: “But the time window is closing quickly.” The pandemic threatens «all of us». (kes)
Published: 06/01/2021, 3:04 am
Last updated: June 1, 2021, 3:11 am