Story at a glance
- Environmental activist Greta Thunberg continued her fight against vaccine inequality Monday, questioning the decision of wealthy countries to vaccinate young, healthy populations while other nation’s struggle to inoculate the vulnerable.
- “It is completely unethical that high-income countries are now vaccinating young and healthy people if that happens at the expense of people in risk groups and on the frontlines in low- and middle-income countries,” Thunberg added.
- WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that there have been 5.2 million confirmed cases over the last week.
Environmental activist Greta Thunberg continued her fight against vaccine inequality Monday, questioning the decision of wealthy countries to vaccinate young, healthy populations while other nation’s struggle to inoculate the vulnerable.
The teenage activist, whose foundation has donated considerable sums of money to combat vaccine inequality, said at a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing the international community “must step up their game and address the tragedy that is vaccine inequity,” The Guardian reported.
“Just with the climate crisis, those who are the most vulnerable need to be prioritised and global problems require global solutions,” Thunberg said.
“It is completely unethical that high-income countries are now vaccinating young and healthy people if that happens at the expense of people in risk groups and on the front lines in low- and middle-income countries,” Thunberg added.
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WHO data shows that more than 3 million people world-wide have died from COVID-19. Meanwhile, more than 919 million vaccine doses have been administered in across 184 countries, according to CNN’s global vaccine tracker.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that there have been 5.2 million confirmed cases over the last week, adding that cases amongst people between 25 and 59 are “increasing at an alarming rate, possibly as a result of highly variants and increased social mixing among younger adults.”
The global community has asked for U.S. aid amid the ongoing challenge. Last week, a group of Nobel Laureates and former world leaders asked President Biden in a letter to help curb vaccine inequalities by putting a pause on pharmaceutical patents for COVID-19 vaccines.
“The full protection of intellectual property and monopolies will only negatively impact efforts to vaccinate the world and be self-defeating for the U.S.,” the authors wrote.
“By supporting a TRIPS waiver, the U.S. will provide an example of responsible leadership at a time when it is needed most on global health — as it has done so before on HIV, saving millions of lives. Your support in rallying allies and all countries to follow your lead will also be essential,” the group concluded.
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