The deployment of vaccines against Covid-19 has been carried out at an "unprecedented" pace around the world, with almost all countries having introduced the vaccine in less than 12 months, these experts noted in a press release.

However, 20 countries - up from 34 in mid-January - have still not exceeded 10% of their population vaccinated, said Kate O'Brien, the head of vaccination at the World Health Organization, at a press conference.

Most of these countries are in Africa, with the rest being in the Eastern Mediterranean regions, America, Western Pacific, and Southeast Asia.

"These are countries that are working really hard to advance their programs" of vaccination, underlined Ms. O'Brien.

The WHO and its partners, including UNICEF, are helping these countries to increase their vaccination coverage, particularly in Africa.

"That's where the focus of the work is, and as part of that work, you have to make sure that those are the high-risk populations - those who need the vaccine the most and who are most at risk of contracting a disease. serious or die, as well as healthcare workers - who receive vaccines on a priority basis as immunization programs ramp up...in an attempt to stem the pandemic," O'Brien said.

Overall, the available data indicate that coverage among high priority groups is "insufficient", according to the WHO committee.

Coverage for health personnel is 65% overall, and coverage for those over 60 is 69%, the statement said.

It also indicates that the Covax international mechanism for access to vaccines - which is co-led by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), WHO and Cepi (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) - has enough doses to vaccinate by June 70% of the population of the 92 low- and middle-income economies benefiting from this market guarantee.

The WHO has set itself the goal of reaching 70% of the population of each country by the middle of 2022.

The Covax mechanism, which aims to ensure equal access to vaccines, has so far delivered more than 1.4 billion doses in all to 145 countries.

This is less than expected: he initially expected 2 billion at the end of 2021.

© 2022 AFP