The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday denounced the rush in rich countries for a third dose of the Covid vaccine. She pointed out that the data has not demonstrated the need for a recall now, as several Western countries embark on such campaigns and NGOs have denounced the export of vaccines produced in South Africa to countries ” rich “.
“We clearly believe that the current data does not indicate that the boosters are necessary,” WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a press conference. We have to “wait for science to tell us when boosters are needed, what groups of people and which vaccines need boosters,” she explained. From a “moral and ethical” point of view, it is also not good in his eyes that rich countries inject the third dose “when the rest of the world is waiting for their first injection”.
“Distribute additional life jackets to people who already have one”
Shortly after these statements, the United States announced a recall campaign for anti-Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna at the end of September, with health authorities concerned about the decline in the immune protection conferred by the vaccines over time. This recall campaign, however, remains suspended from the authorization of an additional dose by the United States Medicines Agency (FDA).
Israel has already launched a campaign for a third dose of the vaccine, for older people, despite the WHO’s call for a moratorium on the practice. Injecting a 3rd dose now amounts to “distributing additional life jackets to people who already have one, while we let other people drown without the slightest life jacket,” said the emergency director of the lodge on Wednesday. ‘WHO, Mike Ryan, during press conference.
Prioritize Africa
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on leaders to look beyond “narrow nationalist goals”. “Against this background, I was stunned by reports that J & J’s vaccines assembled and packaged in South Africa are leaving the continent and going to Europe,” he said, asking the US laboratory urgently prioritize Africa. NGOs have denounced the export of these vaccines, while less than 2% of the 1.3 billion inhabitants of the African continent are to date fully vaccinated and Africa has more than 7.3 million cases. and 185,000 deaths.
He also expressed his concern after the recent warning from the pharmaceutical group Roche regarding the supply of tocilizumab (marketed under the name Actemra or RoActemra), an interleukin 6 (IL6) antagonist which the WHO resumed use in June to treat severe forms of Covid. “While we welcome and acknowledge that Roche has announced measures to address the shortage, we call on the company to ensure a fair distribution of current stocks of this drug for all countries, including low and middle income countries “WHO said in a statement.