About The COVID-19 Vaccine, WHO: South Korea Is Rich But Patient, AstraZeneca Does Not Take Profit

Vaccine AstraZeneca. (Wikimedia Commons / gencat cat)

JAKARTA - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, again called for solidarity for the COVID-19 vaccine among countries around the world.

He conveyed this call, in line with the assessment of the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine which is getting stranger from day to day according to him. A worrying and dangerous reality, he said.

"The gap between the number of vaccines given in rich countries, and the number of vaccines given through COVAX is increasing every day, getting stranger every day," he told Euro News.

Tedros said countries that now vaccinate younger, healthier people with a low risk of disease are doing so at the cost of the lives of health workers, the elderly and other at-risk groups in other countries.

"The poorest countries in the world wonder if the rich countries really mean it when it comes to solidarity," he said.

WHO Head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Wikimedia Commons / ITU Pictures)

COVAX is a vaccine distribution initiative led by WHO. It is intended that the COVID-19 vaccine has been launched in all countries within the first 100 days of 2021, including in 92 low-income countries. And, about 20 percent of the population in each country have been inoculated by the end of this year

Approximately 448 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given worldwide. The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union together contribute more than 206 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, Tedros said that up to Monday, March 22, yesterday, more than 31 million doses had been sent to 57 countries around the world through the COVAX program.

Overall, only 0.1 percent of doses given worldwide have been given in low-income countries. Meanwhile, high-income countries (16 percent of the world's population), account for more than half of the injected dose.

Tedros stressed that the unfair distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage. It is also self-defeating economically and epidemiologically.

Vaccine illustration. (Sam Moqadam / Unsplash)

"Some countries are racing to vaccinate their entire population, while others have nothing. This may buy short-term security, but it is a false sense of security," he criticized.

"The more transmission, the more variants. And the more variants that emerge, the more likely they are to avoid vaccines. And as long as the virus continues to circulate everywhere, people will continue to die, trade and travel will continue to be disrupted, and economic recovery will be further delayed. , "said Tedros.

Without intending to provoke, Tedros praised South Korea, who he said chose to wait its turn for the vaccine through COVAX, despite being a high-income country that could easily buy vaccines through bilateral agreements.

He also named AstraZeneca as the only company committed to not profiting from the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic

"And so far, (AstraZeneca) is the only vaccine developer that has contributed significantly to vaccine equity, by licensing the technology to several other companies, including SK Bio in the Republic of Korea and the Serum Institute of India," he explained.

To note, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is still reaping a polemic from a safety side, after reports of a number of cases of finding side effects of blood clots in Europe and in Asia. WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are moving quickly to ensure that this vaccine is safe and effective according to research results. Countries in Europe and Asia are continuing their delayed vaccination programs.

"This is a safe and effective vaccine. If it was me, I would be vaccinated tomorrow," said EMA Director Emer Cooke.

The COVID-19 vaccination program with the AstraZeneca vaccine was rolled out again last week, after previously experiencing delays in Europe and in Asia. However, currently residents in a number of countries still have doubts about the safety of this vaccine.

In the UK, PM Boris Johnson received the AstraZeneca vaccine last Friday. Previously, Thai PM Chan-O-Cha on Tuesday last week also received the AstraZeneca vaccine after being postponed. This week, Taiwanese PM Su Tseng-chang last Monday received the AstraZeneca vaccine, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in today.