The second day of the virtual India Global Forum opened with a special address by WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He spoke on the need for vaccination and the disparity between high-income countries and lower-income countries.
Speaking at the conference, he raised concern over many countries failing to vaccinate their people. He said that by September, at least 10 per cent of the population of every country should be vaccinated. "Until we end the pandemic everywhere, we will not end it anywhere,” said WHO chief at India Global Forum 2021.
"Vast inequities in the access to vaccines are fuelling a two-track pandemic. While some countries have reached a high level of coverage, many others do not have enough to vaccinate health workers, older people & other at-risk groups," the World Health Organisation Director-General said at the virtual India Global Forum.
While asserting on 10 per cent of the population should be vaccinated, he also said that much more is needed. He stated that when some countries cannot vaccinate, it is a threat to all countries. He urged that a global effort should be made to vaccinate at least 10 per cent of the population of every country by September, at least 40 per cent by the end of the year, and at least 70 per cent by the middle of next year.
"Vaccine equity is not just the right thing to do. It's the best way to control the pandemic and reboot the global economy," the WHO chief said.
According to Johns Hopkins University, across the globe, the coronavirus has infected over 18.2 crore people and have killed nearly 40 lakh. Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, India alone has recorded more than 3 crore coronavirus cases and registered nearly 400,000 deaths due to the virus.
