Faced with the chasm between rich countries, where anti-Covid vaccines abound, and poor countries which have been able to immunize only a small part of their population, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for, Wednesday, August 4 , a moratorium on booster doses in an attempt to restore some semblance of balance.
"We urgently need to turn things around: from a majority of vaccines going to rich countries, to a majority going to poor countries," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing in Geneva.
He was reacting to the fact that Germany and Israel have already announced campaigns for a third dose, for vaccines requiring two initial doses.
These "booster doses" are intended in particular for the elderly whose immune system does not always produce enough antibodies despite the complete vaccination.
The head of the UN agency called for the moratorium to last "at least until the end of September" in an attempt to achieve a goal he had set in May: that 10% of the population of all countries in the world be vaccinated against Covid-19.
High and upper middle income countries received 80% of vaccines
"To get there we need the cooperation of everyone, especially the handful of countries and companies that control global vaccine production," he said.
He notably called on pharmaceutical groups to promote the Covax system, an international system set up to try to fight against vaccine inequality and help 92 poor countries to immunize their populations.
For the time being, Covax is unable to fulfill its mission for lack of doses and has only been able to distribute a small fraction of what was initially planned due to lack of being able to buy the necessary vaccines or because the supply was blocked. by India to fight the pandemic at home.
However, the system was able to benefit from tens of millions of doses of vaccine offered by countries that had too many - or a type that did not suit them - such as the United States, but also France and other European countries. .
Of the 4 billion such doses injected around the world, 80% went to high and upper middle income countries, while they represent less than 50% of the world's population.
Washington rejects WHO call for moratorium on vaccine recalls
Dr Bruce Aylward, in charge of Covax at the WHO, acknowledged that the end of September was an ambitious goal that will not be achieved if we continue at the current pace.
The United States has already rejected this call for a moratorium.
They felt that they did not "need" to choose between giving a third dose to their citizens or donating it to poor countries.
If Washington has not yet made a decision on the administration of booster doses.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR