WHO’s chief vaccine officer says many vulnerable people in poorer countries have yet to receive a single dose. (File)
Geneva:
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said it was not clear whether an additional dose of the Covid-19 vaccine was needed to protect against the new variant of Omicron, and urged wealthy nations to avoid Stock up on vaccinations.
The United Nations health agency’s vaccine advisers warn that rushing to stock up on more shots, especially in the absence of clear evidence is needed, will only exacerbate access to vaccines. – Asking is inherently unequal globally.
“When we consider what the Omicron situation will look like, there is a risk that global supply will again shift to high-income countries hoarding vaccines to protect (their population) … in a sense Something is redundant,” WHO director of vaccines, Kate O’Brien, told reporters.
Her comments come after preliminary results released Wednesday indicated that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine are needed to provide the same level of protection against Omicron as the two doses provided. level against the original strain.
O’Brien said WHO was examining the data and could find that “additional doses are beneficial to provide additional protection against Omicron”, but stressed that it was still “very early days”.
While there is still little evidence that extra doses are needed to protect against the development of severe Covid disease, many vulnerable people and health care workers in poorer countries are still unvaccinated. single dose and still high risk.
O’Brien points out that the world has only just begun to address the dangerous inequalities in vaccine access over the past two months, with more doses donated and large shipments moving to countries. not served.
“We have to make sure it continues, and warn that efforts by wealthy countries to stockpile more stabbing drugs for their people will only prolong the pandemic,” she said.
“It’s not going to work from an epidemiological perspective, and it’s not going to work in terms of transmission, unless we really get a vaccine to all countries,” she said.
“Where the transmission continues… is where the variations will come,” she warned, urging “a much more sensible global perspective from countries on what will actually stop this pandemic. .”
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