The United Nations has called for coordinated global efforts to be made to vaccinate most of the world against COVID-19, as the current inequality gaps put everyone at risk.
A first meeting of the UN Security Council on vaccinations has already taken place. Foreign ministers from several countries have declared that the world has a “moral duty” to act together in the fight against the deadly virus.
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, expressed concern that 10 nations gave 75% of the doses while 130 countries had none at all.
“The world desperately needs a global vaccination plan to bring together all those who have the strength, scientific expertise, manufacturing and financial capabilities,” said Guterres.
“If the virus is allowed to spread like wildfire in the global south, it mutates again and again. New variants could become more transmissible and deadly, and potentially compromise the effectiveness of current vaccines and diagnostics, ”added Guterres.
In addition, Henrietta Fore, director of the UN Children’s Agency, UNICEF, stated that “the only way out of this pandemic for each of us is to make sure that vaccinations are available to all of us.”
In the meantime, the European Union has purchased 300 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 200 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. A second contract with Moderna will give the EU an additional 150 million cans in 2021 and the option to receive an additional 150 million cans in 2022.
“With a portfolio of up to 2.6 billion doses, we can provide vaccines not only to our citizens, but also to our neighbors and partners,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was heavily criticized for the mischief of introducing the vaccination campaign , explained.
English
Arabic
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish