WHO calls for end to 'vaccine nationalism'

Tedros says acting globally is actually in each country’s national interest

GENEVA:

Countries putting their own interests ahead of others in trying to ensure supplies of a possible coronavirus vaccine are making the pandemic worse, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday.

“(Acting) strategically and globally is actually in each country’s national interest - no one is safe until everyone is safe,” he told a virtual briefing calling for an end to “vaccine nationalism”.

He said he had sent a letter to all WHO members asking them to join the multilateral COVAX vaccine effort.

More than 21.9 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 772,647​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.