A top World Health Organization (WHO) official on Monday said almost all countries are facing issues with the supply and distribution of vaccines against Covid-19, reported The Hindustan Times.
“All countries are struggling with the issue of getting the vaccine and then deciding the scheduling and whether they go for giving one dose to everybody and then trying to delay the second dose a little,” said Mike Ryan, the executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, at a press conference.
The statement comes as the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers around the world including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, are facing production issues and have to reduce deliveries of the coronavirus vaccine.
During the same press conference, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were fewer than 1,500 cases of Covid-19 reported during the same time last year including just 20 cases outside China. He said the number is expected to reach 100 million this week.
He urged the people to adhere to safety and precautionary measures like wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus until the majority of the people across the globe get vaccinated.
“There is so much all we can do to navigate our way out of this pandemic while we all wait our turn to be vaccinated: physical distancing, avoiding crowds, masks, hand hygiene, ventilation, and more,” the WHO chief added.
Tedros also warned that the Covid-19 vaccine divide between rich and poor nations is getting worse. He said the failure to distribute the vaccine fairly could cost the global economy trillions of dollars.
Last week, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, warned that Africa is in danger of being left behind in getting access to COVID-19 vaccines as other financially developed countries around the world are striking bilateral deals with vaccine manufacturers, thus increasing the prices of the vaccines. He said the vulnerable people in Africa must get urgent access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines as early as possible.
According to WHO’s latest official figures, the total number of Covid-19 cases across the world has reached 98,794,942, with the cumulative death toll has reached 2,124,193.
