MILLIONS of Covid-19 vaccines will be wasted if rich countries do not donate large amounts of leftover doses to poorer nations in one go, UNICEF has warned in an open letter published on Tuesday (8) ahead of the three-day G7 summit in Cornwall.
The call for vaccine sharing is backed by UNICEF goodwill ambassadors Priyanka Chopra Jonas, David Beckham, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and Whoopi Goldberg among other 28 high-profile ambassadors who have asked G7 leaders commit to donating doses of Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries.
“The world has spent a year and a half battling the Covid-19 pandemic, but the virus is still spreading in many countries and producing new variants with the potential to put us all back where we started,” the letter reads. “This means more school closures, more healthcare disruptions, and greater economic fallout – threatening the futures of families and children everywhere.”
The letter goes on to warn that COVAX, the global initiative supporting poorer countries to gain access to vaccines, is already facing a shortfall of 190 million doses. The plea proposes that, in order to help cover this shortfall, G7 countries donate 20 per cent of their vaccines between June and August as a temporary stopgap measure to compensate for this shortfall.
“Some countries have committed to donating vaccines later this year, but doses are needed now,” says the letter.
Pointing out that “this weekend’s G7 Summit is a vital opportunity” for nations to agree on the actions, the letter urges leaders to set out a roadmap to scale-up donations as supplies increase, noting that analysis shows that G7 nations can do so without significantly delaying their current plans to vaccinate domestic adult populations.
“As many as one billion doses may be available for donation by year-end,” says the letter.
Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas said the crisis in India shows why “we must act now to avoid further deadly mutations ravaging low- and middle-income nations around the world.” She added that Unicef and its COVAX partners are ensuring vaccines and treatments reach the world’s most vulnerable populations, but said more needed to be done.
“A clear solution to this is G7 countries committing to sharing their surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses immediately with the countries whose health workers and vulnerable populations need them the most,” said the actress.
Beckham said the pandemic won’t be over “until it’s over everywhere, so it’s vital that all communities around the world have fair access to COVID-19 vaccines urgently.”
