The WHO Africa chief said rolling out booster shots 'makes a mockery of vaccine equity' as the US plans to offer them to most citizens
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Marianne Guenot
Aug 20, 2021, 17:08 IST
Moeti WHO Regional Director for Africa attends a briefing on the Ebola outbreak response in Democratic Republic of the Congo in Geneva on May 28, 2021.
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Countries that "hoard" vaccines for boosters "make a mockery" of vaccine equity, the WHO Africa chief said.
The news comes days after the US announced plans to roll out boosters to most Americans.
President Biden has said he disagrees with those saying it is too early for Americans to get third shots.
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Plans to administer booster shots to citizens of wealthy nations "make a mockery of vaccine equity," the Africa Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti called out "richer countries," saying they "hoard" vaccines while so many in Africa are still unvaccinated.
Moeti's comments came just a day after the Biden administration refuted claims that the decision to offer booster shots is premature.
As Insider's Aria Bendix reported, experts are divided on whether those under the age of 60 who aren't immunocompromised would already need boosters.
While the US announces plans to offer third shots, just 2% of the 1.3 billion people living in Africa have been fully vaccinated, and the more contagious Delta variant has now reached 40 of 54 countries in the continent, Moeti said on Thursday.
According to Our World in Data, only 1.3% of people in low-income countries have received at least one shot of vaccine, compared to 58% in high-income countries.
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The US will be using 100 million boosters in the coming months, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday.
"We will be donating more than 200 million, twice that number, additional doses to countries," he said, adding that the US intends to donate more than 600 million doses abroad.
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