WHO Asks To Hold Off COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots Citing Inequality: Report

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on wealthy nations to stop the distribution of COVID-19 booster shots, citing vaccine inequity worldwide.

• The World Health Organization called for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September because of a shortfall in vaccine supplies to developing countries.

• While richer countries have administered 100 doses for every 100 people, the agency said that low-income countries had administered just 1.5 doses per 100 people.

• The agency said the halt would give the world a chance to meet the director-general’s goal of vaccinating 10% of the population of every country by the end of September.

• “We need an urgent reversal from the majority of vaccines going to high-income countries, to the majority going to low-income countries,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing.

• The request is part of Ghebreyesus’ plan to vaccinate 40% of the world by December.

• Last week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog received the third shot, kicking off a campaign to give booster doses to people over 60 years in the country.

• Recently, the U.S. signed a deal with Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) to buy 200 million additional doses.

• Photo by Johaehn from Pixabay

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