WHO flags global vaccine inequality, says stop booster shots for Delta variant

The WHO on Wednesday asked nations to stop administering Covid-19 vaccine booster shots until at least the end of September, flagging the drastic inequity in vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations.

World Health Organization chief said while all governments have the right to protect their people from the Delta variant, but it is unacceptable that countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines are using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected. The WHO suggests that at least 10% of the population in every country should be vaccinated before govts start considering booster shots.

More than 4.25 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered globally. In countries categorised as high income by the World Bank, 101 doses per 100 people have been injected, while that figure drops to 1.7 doses per 100 people in the 29 lowest-income countries.

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The United States has rejected the appeal from the UN health agency for a pause on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots and for rich countries, saying that the US has enough vaccine doses to provide booster shots to people and supply vaccines globally, so there is no need to make that choice.