WHO calls for immediate release of 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday immediately called for a donation of 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses so that all the countries could begin their vaccination campaign within the first 100 days of this year. 

WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the rush to receive Covid-19 vaccines had delayed supply for Covax scheme that can deliver doses to poorer nations. 

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He added that there are 36 countries that had not received even a single dose and 16 of those were scheduled to receive their first doses through Covax in the remaining 15 of the first 100 days of 2021. 

This implied that 20 countries would still going to miss out on receiving vaccines. 

Also read | WHO lashes out at unequal vaccine distribution

"Getting all countries started by day 100 is a solvable problem. Covax needs 10 million doses immediately as an urgent stop-gap measure so these 20 countries can start vaccinating their health workers and older people within the next two weeks," WHO's director-general Tedros said. 

"So today I'm asking countries with doses of vaccines that have WHO emergency use listing to donate as many doses as they can to help us meet that target."

"Ten million doses is not much and it is not nearly enough, but it is a start."

Covax intends to deliver vaccines to 92 of the world's poorest nations and vaccinate up to 27 per cent of these countries' population by the end of this year.