The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, called for a moratorium on distributing booster does of COVID-19 vaccines until at least the end of September to enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated.
“These populations need vaccines urgently, especially health workers, older people and other vulnerable groups. And yet even while hundreds of millions of people are still waiting for their first dose, some rich countries are moving towards booster doses,” he said at a press briefing.
More than 4 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, with more than 80% going to high- and upper-middle income countries, even though they account for less than half of the world’s population. Meanwhile, low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people due to lack of supply, he said.
According to the Washington Post, Germany, Israel and Russia are already prioritizing booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines, focusing on higher-risk people.
