Globally 128 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far, updates WHO
February 10, 2021 | Wednesday | News
As of today, almost 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, are yet to administer a single dose.
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WHo at a media briefing on Feb 10, 2021, updated that globally around 128 million vaccine doses administered so far and more than three-quarters of those vaccinations are in just 10 countries that account for 60% of global GDP.
in a joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned that "as of today, almost 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, are yet to administer a single dose."
'This self-defeating strategy will cost lives and livelihoods, give the virus further opportunity to mutate and evade vaccines, and will undermine a global economic recovery,' they expressed concerns.
To ensure that vaccine rollouts begin in all countries in the first 100 days of 2021, it is imperative that:
- Governments that have vaccinated their own health workers and populations at highest risk of severe disease share vaccines through COVAX so other countries can do the same.
- The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, and its vaccines pillar COVAX, is fully funded so that financing and technical support is available to lower- and middle-income countries for deploying and administering vaccines. If fully funded, the ACT Accelerator could return up to US$ 166 for every dollar invested.
- Vaccine manufacturers allocate the limited vaccine supply equitably; share safety, efficacy and manufacturing data as a priority with WHO for regulatory and policy review; step up and maximize production; and transfer technology to other manufacturers who can help scale the global supply.
WHO stressed the need for global leadership to scale up vaccine production and achieve vaccine equity.