WHO chief calls for end of vaccine discrepancy in low-income countries

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated that the "scandal" of worldwide COVID-19 vaccination discrepancy must end. In a news conference on Friday, November 12, WHO Director-General Tedros claimed that in low-income countries, six times more COVID-19 boosters are delivered per day than main dosages. WHO Chief Tedros also stated that countries with the highest immunisation coverage "continue to stockpile more vaccines," while "low-income countries continue to wait" for the doses. “This is a scandal that must stop now,” Tedros said.

COVAX, the COVID-19 vaccine-sharing system, could help reduce vaccine disparities, but it requires at least 550 million doses to reach its aim of vaccinating 40% of each country's population by the end of the year, according to Tedros. The WHO chief shared a pre-recorded video on Twitter. The caption of the video read, "Every day, there are 6 times more boosters administered globally than primary #COVID19 vaccine doses in low-income countries. This is a scandal that must stop now. https://bit.ly/3kxMALF #VaccinEquity"

Almost 2 million cases of COVID-19 were reported in Europe last week, the most in a single week in that region since the pandemic began, the WHO chief said, adding that the nearly 27,000 COVID deaths reported in Europe last week represented more than half of all COVID-19 deaths globally last week. The WHO director general stated that the COVID vaccine crisis is not the only one that the globe is dealing with. A new report by WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than 22 million infants missed their first dose of measles vaccine last year, marking the largest increase in two decades, the WHO leader said.

Pfizer to sub-license the production of Paxlovid pill

On Tuesday, November 16, Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, announced a deal to make its potential antiviral Covid-19 pill more affordable in the world's poorest countries. Pfizer will sub-license the production of its promising Paxlovid pill to generic drug manufacturers for distribution in 95 low- and middle-income countries, accounting for approximately 53% of the world's population. Pfizer, which also produces one of the most widely used Covid vaccines with German lab BioNTech, will not receive royalties from generic manufacturers under the agreement reached with the global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), making the treatment less expensive.

Image:ANI