Covid: WHO calls for booster pause to vaccinate poorer nations

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a suspension of booster vaccines for Covid-19 until at least the end of September.

The halt on third doses should be in place until at least the end of September, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing on Wednesday. That would help achieve the WHO’s goal to vaccinate at least 10% of the population in every country by that date, protecting healthcare workers and vulnerable people.

WHO Chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned poorer nations are falling behind. According to the WHO, low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people due to a lack of supply.

“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the delta variant, but we cannot and we should not accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected,” Tedros said.

It is a strong call from the WHO, as the agency attempts to narrow the gap between high-income and low-income nations. It had wanted 10% of people in every country to be vaccinated by next month, but that target is unlikely to be met on the current trajectory.

In Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, none of the population has received two doses of the vaccine.

Indonesia, which has seen infections and deaths spike in recent months due to the Delta variant, has only fully vaccinated 7.9% of its population, according to Our World in Data.

Meanwhile, Israel began rolling out a booster shot for the over 60s, while Germany announced on Tuesday that it would start offering third doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. In the UK, millions of people classed as vulnerable could be offered a booster from September.

The US has not announced a policy on booster vaccinations but the White House said on Wednesday that it has enough doses to distribute vaccines abroad while also ensuring Americans can be fully vaccinated.

“We definitely feel like it’s a false choice and we can do both,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

This is not the first time that Dr Tedros has called on richer nations to donate vaccine supplies to low-income countries.

In May, he called on wealthier nations to postpone plans to give children and teenagers vaccines and instead donate those supplies.

Dr Tedros urged countries to supply more vaccines to the global fair-access scheme Covax. However, a number of countries, including the UK, are pressing ahead with plans to vaccinate children and teenagers.