Bobby Ramakant - CNS
Vaccinating all eligible people worldwide is key if we are to take the best shot of ending pandemic via vaccination
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The Covid pandemic has hard drilled the lesson why health and social security of each one of us is inter-dependent on health and social security of one another. But do we see more equity (or inequity) in the Covid response, such as the rollout of the vaccination worldwide? Inequitable distribution of vaccine, diagnostics, oxygen, personnel protective equipment, and other necessary essential tools have been plaguing the Covid response due to which we are unable to fully break the chain of infection transmission by prevention measures, and reduce severity of the disease for those who get infected.
Global population is around 7.8 billion people. World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that globally 5.5 billion doses of Covid vaccines have been administered but 80% of these vaccinations have happened in rich nations. Rich nations promised to donate 1 billion doses but less than 15% of this promise has been kept so far.
The WHO is mobilizing all countries worldwide to vaccinate 10% of population fully by September 2021, and 40% by December 2021, and 70% by June 2022.
90% of rich nations have already reached the target of fully vaccinating at least 10% of their population, and 70% of rich nations have already reached 40% target. But not a single low-income country has reached either of the targets so far, which alarmed Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
That is why Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is appealing to all the governments not to give booster third dose of Covid vaccines till end of this year so that everyone worldwide can get a chance of being fully vaccinated.
If we are to find our way out of the pandemic, then universal vaccination is an essential cog in the wheel towards this journey - but window is fast closing!
India has already achieved two times more than the WHO September end target
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