Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 29. The emergence of the mutated new crown virus Omi Keron has brought new challenges to global epidemic prevention.
Health experts believe that overstocking of new crown vaccines in wealthy countries leads to unequal distribution of vaccines, which is an important factor in the birth of this new strain.
Michael Head, a senior researcher on global health issues at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, told CNN that previous large-scale epidemics of new coronavirus mutations have appeared in severe and uncontrolled areas. For example, the United Kingdom first reported the discovery of alpha in December last year. Strain, India reported the discovery of the Delta strain in February this year.
The Omi Keron strain was detected for the first time in South Africa on November 9.
Heide said that there are still many people in the world who have not been vaccinated against the new crown, such as in sub-Saharan Africa; the emergence of Omi Keron strain is "a natural result of slow global vaccination."
According to data from the World Health Organization, in low-income countries, the proportion of people receiving at least one dose of the new crown vaccine is only 7.5%. The 8 African countries where the Omi Kiron strain is most affected by travel restrictions have universal vaccination rates. On the low side, Malawi is as low as 5.6%.
In high-income countries, 63.9% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Jeremy Faller, director of the Wellcome Foundation in the United Kingdom, said that the emergence of Omi Keron highlights the need to ensure a more equitable distribution of vaccines and other anti-epidemic resources.
"The emergence of new strains reminds us that the epidemic is far from over. Unfair distribution is a factor that delays the epidemic."
Heide said, “The more affluent countries have hoarded more than the actual amount needed, and they have not fulfilled their pledge to donate vaccines to the (WHO-led) New Coronary Pneumonia Vaccine Implementation Plan or directly donate vaccines to other countries.” This has led to South Africa and others. One of the reasons for the lack of vaccines in many countries.
According to WHO's plan, at least 40% of the population in each country should be vaccinated by the end of this year; the vaccination rate will reach 70% by mid-2022.
This goal currently seems difficult to achieve.
Compared with the total number of vaccines in the world, the number of vaccines obtained through the new coronary pneumonia vaccine implementation plan in various countries is small.
Gordon Brown, WHO's Global Health Funding Ambassador and former British Prime Minister, wrote in an article published on the 27th in the British "Guardian" that "part of the population in developing countries has not been vaccinated, and now we are struggling to deal with it." The emergence of new strains in the poorest countries poses a threat to people in the richest countries, and even those who have completed the entire vaccination process."
Richard Lessers, an infectious pathologist at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa, believes that the reaction of rich countries to South Africa’s report of the Omi Keron strain is an example of the selfishness of these countries.
He said that the "only and biggest response" made by the United Kingdom and Europe was to impose the travel ban, but "not a word about helping African countries control the epidemic, especially not addressing the problem of unfair vaccine distribution. We have been working on this throughout the year. Issue a warning. Now, we see the consequences." (Hui Xiaoshuang)