Many more people around the world will die of COVID-19 if Western political leaders prioritize booster shots for their populations instead of sharing doses with those who have not received even the first dose, the heads of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement for the Guardian
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2021) Many more people around the world will die of COVID-19 if Western political leaders prioritize booster shots for their populations instead of sharing doses with those who have not received even the first dose, the heads of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement for the Guardian.
"Large-scale boosting in one rich country would send a signal around the world that boosters are needed everywhere. This will suck many vaccine doses out of the system, and many more people will die because they never even had a chance to get a single dose. If millions are boosted in the absence of a strong scientific case, history will remember the moment at which political leaders decided to reject their responsibility to the rest of humanity in the greatest crisis of our lifetimes," Andrew Pollard from Oxford Vaccine Group, and Seth Berkley from Gavi said.
According to the statement, although the scientific developers have already deployed 4.4 billion doses, the global epidemiological situation remains very tense and thousands of people are still dying every week because of coronavirus. The world community finds itself in this position because it is not giving preference to those who are at higher risk.
"Vaccinating those at risk everywhere is in our self-interest. It may reduce the risk of new variants arising, and will relieve pressure on health systems, open travel, resuscitate the global economy, and raise the international authority of politicians prepared to take such moral leadership," the statement said.
On Wednesday, the United Kingdom, 60% of whose population are already fully vaccinated, began ordering vaccines for a booster campaign in fall 2022, with Pfizer reportedly being asked to supply the country with a further 35 million doses, despite the company raising prices. However, the government has yet to give final approval for the revaccination program.
