WHO calls for moratorium on booster COVID-19 vaccine shots until end of Sep

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the global body is calling for a moratorium on booster COVID-19 vaccine shots until the end of September to ensure equitable access to vaccines.

Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, Tedros said, "WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September to enable at least 10 per cent of the population of every country to be vaccinated. To make that happen, we need everyone's cooperation, especially the handful of countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines."

A small group of nations, including some in Europe, are planning additional shots for the fully inoculated even as the COVID-19 continues to infect and kill at alarming rates across the Global South, where vaccination levels remain "catastrophically low," The Washington Post reported.

The report stated that the decision by wealthy countries to give booster shots to their own people rather than donating those doses to poorer countries is controversial. Health experts have called this move immoral.

Speaking during the presser today, the WHO chief also called on global personalities and leaders from all walks of life to support the moratorium call. "We call on everyone with influence - #Olympics athletes, investors, business leaders, faith leaders, and every individual in their own family and community - to support our call for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September," he said.

Tedro said the world must all remember that vaccines are not the only tool to combat the pandemic. "Indeed, there is no single tool that will defeat this pandemic. We can only defeat it with a comprehensive approach of Syringe in combination with the proven public health & social measures that we know work."

He further called on vaccine producers to prioritize COVAX and Group of 20 nations to heed his call for moratorium on booster shots till September.

( With inputs from ANI )