WHO Calls for Pause on Booster Doses

Aug. 4, 2021 -- The World Health Organization is calling connected affluent nations to hold to springiness their citizens booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines until astatine slightest the extremity of September to springiness much radical successful different countries a accidental to get a archetypal dose of these lifesaving shots.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, PhD, said that much than 80% of the 4 cardinal vaccine doses fixed astir the satellite had been distributed to high-income countries, though they correspond little than fractional the world’s population.

“I recognize the interest of each governments to support their radical from the Delta variant,” Ghebreyesus said. “But we cannot judge countries that person already utilized astir of the planetary proviso of vaccines utilizing adjacent much of it, portion the world’s astir susceptible radical stay unprotected.”

So far, high-income countries person fixed astir 100 vaccine doses for each 100 people, portion low-income countries person fixed conscionable 1.5 doses for each 100 people.

“Which means, successful immoderate of the astir susceptible countries successful the satellite with the weakest wellness systems, wellness attraction workers are moving without extortion … the older populations stay astatine precocious risk,” said Bruce Aylward, MD, the WHO’s elder advisor connected organizational change.

But not everyone agrees.

Leana Wen, MD, a visiting prof astatine the Milken Institute School of Public Health astatine George Washington University, said determination are doses already successful the United States that won’t past agelong capable to beryllium sent elsewhere.

“Yes, we request to get vaccines to the satellite (which besides includes helping with distribution, not conscionable supply), but determination are doses expiring present successful the U.S.,” she said connected Twitter. “Why not let those immunosuppressed to person them?”

Israel became the archetypal state to commencement giving immoderate residents booster shots connected Sunday, offering other doses to seniors who are much than 5 months past their past vaccinations. On Monday, Germany announced it would besides springiness booster doses to susceptible patients, specified arsenic nursing location residents, opening successful September.

Aylward said the moratorium was each astir “trying to enactment a clasp connected those policies until and unless we get the remainder of the satellite caught up.”

He said it’s wide from the exigency of variant aft variant that if we don’t halt the transmission of the microorganism astir the world, the pandemic would proceed to enactment unit connected the vaccines, making them little and little effective.

“We cannot get retired of it unless the full satellite gets retired of it together,” Aylward said.

“We request an urgent reversal, from the bulk of vaccines going to high-income countries, to the bulk going to low-income countries,” Ghebreyesus said, asking leaders of high-income countries to hold connected distributing booster doses until astatine slightest 10% of the world’s colonisation is vaccinated.

“To marque that happen, we request everyone’s cooperation, particularly the fistful of countries and companies that power the planetary proviso of vaccines,” helium said.