(4 minutes read)
- The World Health Organization condemned the rush by wealthy countries to provide Covid vaccine booster shots, while millions around the world have yet
- The WHO experts insisted there was not enough scientific evidence that boosters were needed and said providing them while so many were still waiting to be immunized was immoral
- The fundamental, ethical reality is that people in wealthy countries are going for a second life jacket while leaving millions of people without anything to protect them, the WHO officials said to receive a single dose
The World Health Organization condemned the rush by wealthy countries to provide Covid vaccine booster shots, while millions around the world have yet to receive a single dose.
The WHO experts insisted there was not enough scientific evidence that boosters were needed and said providing them while so many were still waiting to be immunized was immoral. The fundamental, ethical reality is that people in wealthy countries are going for a second life jacket while leaving millions of people without anything to protect them, the WHO officials said.
WHO called earlier this month declared a moratorium on Covid vaccine booster shots to help ease the drastic inequity in dose distribution between rich and poor nations. But a number of countries are moving forward with plans to add a third jab. The US authorities warned recently that Covid-19 vaccination efficacy was decreasing over time, and authorized booster shots for all Americans from September 20 starting eight months after an individual has been fully vaccinated.
The officials said that while the vaccines remain “remarkably effective” in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death from the effects of Covid, protection could diminish in the months ahead without boosted immunisation. Washington had already authorized an extra dose for people with weakened immune systems. Israel has also begun administering third doses to Israelis aged 50 and over.
