- The WHO slammed the accusations that Johnson & Johnson vaccines produced in South Africa were shipped to other countries.
- According to the agency, there are clear differences in access to vaccines between rich and poor countries.
- At the same time, the WHO criticized rich countries for eager to buy Covid-19 vaccine boosters.
The World Health Organization condemned allegations that Johnson & Johnson vaccines produced in South Africa were shipped to other countries.
On Tuesday, after the New York Times reported in detail that a contract between the South Australian government and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) prohibits the government from imposing vaccine export restrictions, the militant group delivered a speech.
The head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed outrage at reports that the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine currently filled and completed in South Africa was shipped to Europe for use. Almost all adults have been vaccinated.”
“If manufacturers and leaders prioritize supply to low- and middle-income countries, the gap between the rich and the poor will only grow,” he said.
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“We urge Johnson & Johnson to give urgent priority to the distribution of vaccines to Africa before considering supplying vaccines to wealthy countries that already have sufficient opportunities,” he said.
“Vaccine injustice is a shame for all mankind. If we don’t solve it together, we will extend the acute phase of this epidemic by several years, and it may end in a few months.”
“The virus is evolving. When we live in an interconnected world and the virus is rapidly mutating, it is not in the best interests of leaders to focus solely on narrow nationalist goals.”
The WHO also condemned the rush to provide Covid vaccine booster shots in rich countries, while millions of people around the world have not yet received a dose of the vaccine.
Before the U.S. authorities announced that all Americans who had been vaccinated would soon be eligible for additional doses, WHO experts insisted that there was insufficient scientific evidence to show that booster vaccination was needed and stated that so many people are still waiting for vaccination. It is unethical to provide them under circumstances.
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“We plan to distribute additional life jackets to people who already have life jackets, and we let others drown without a life jacket,” WHO emergency affairs director Mike Ryan told reporters at the UN agency headquarters in Geneva.
“The basic, ethical reality is that we are distributing a second life jacket while leaving millions of people with nothing to protect them.”
Earlier this month, the WHO called for a suspension of Covid vaccine booster injections to help alleviate the severe inequality in dose distribution between rich and poor countries.
stamp
But this has not stopped some countries from advancing plans to increase the third jab, because they are working hard to prevent the Delta variant.
U.S. authorities warned on Wednesday that the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccination would decline over time, and stated that they have authorized that from September 20th, eight months after individuals are fully vaccinated, it will be effective for all Americans. Give booster injections.
Officials said that although the vaccine is still “very effective” in reducing the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death caused by Covid, if immunization is not strengthened, the protective effect may be weakened in the coming months.
Washington has approved additional doses for people with weakened immune systems.
Israel has also begun to inject a third dose into Israelis 50 years and older.
However, WHO experts insist that science is still on the booster, and emphasized that it is more important to ensure that people in low-income countries where vaccination is lagging behind receive the vaccine.
-Additional report by Crusun Pillay
