By Nelson A. King
The Director-General of
the World Health Organization
(WHO) has warned
that blanket COVID-19
vaccine booster programs
could prolong the pandemic
and increase inequity.
“No country can boost
its way out of the pandemic,”
said WHO chief Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
speaking in Geneva during
his final press briefing
for the year.
“And boosters cannot be
seen as a ticket to go ahead
with planned celebrations,
without the need for other
precautions,” he added.
The WHO Strategic
Advisory Group of Experts
on Immunization (SAGE)
has issued interim guidance
on booster doses,
expressing concern that
mass programs for countries
that can afford them,
will exacerbate vaccine
inequity.
WHO said, currently,
around 20 per cent of all
vaccine doses administered
are being given as boosters
or additional doses.
“Blanket booster programs
are likely to prolong
the pandemic, rather
than ending it, by diverting
supply to countries
that already have high levels
of vaccination coverage,
giving the virus more
opportunity to spread and
mutate,” said Tedros.
He stressed that the priority
must be on supporting
countries to vaccinate
40 per cent of their populations
as quickly as possible,
and 70 per cent by the
middle of 2022.
“It’s important to
remember that the vast
majority of hospitalizations
and deaths are in
unvaccinated people, not
un-boosted people,” Tedros
said. “And we must be very
Will my child have side
effects to the COVID-19
vaccine like I did?
For children ages 5-11, the dose is only a
third of the amount that is given to adults
and side effects appear to be milder.
COVID-19 VACCINES SAVE LIVES. GET YOUR CHILD VACCINATED.
To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine or call 212-COVID19.
Caribbean L 18 ife, January 7-13, 2022
clear that the vaccines we
have, remain effective
against both the Delta and
Omicron variants.”
Tedros reported that
while some countries are
now rolling out blanket
programs — for a third,
or even fourth shot, in
the case of Israel — only
half of WHO’s 194 member
states have been able
to inoculate 40 per cent
of their populations due
to “distortions in global
supply”.
Enough vaccines were
administered globally in
2021, he said. Therefore,
he added, every country
could have reached the
target by September, if
doses had been distributed
equitably through global
solidarity mechanism
COVAX and its African
Union counterpart, AVAT.
“We’re encouraged that
supply is improving,” said
Tedros. “Today, COVAX
shipped its 800 millionth
vaccine dose. Half of those
doses have been shipped in
the past three months.”
He again urged countries
and manufacturers
to prioritize COVAX and
AVAT, and to work together
to support nations furthest
behind.
While WHO projections
show sufficient supply to
vaccinate the entire global
adult population by the
first quarter of 2022, and
to give boosters to highrisk
populations, only later
in the year will supply be
sufficient for extensive use
of boosters in all adults,
the WHO chief said.
Reflecting on the past
year, he reported that more
people died from COVID-
19 in 2021 than from HIV,
malaria and tuberculosis
combined, in 2020.
Tedros said coronavirus
killed 3.5 million people
this year, and continues
A medical worker prepares a dose of the “Comirnaty”
Pfi zer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination
center in Nantes, France, Oct. 6, 2021.
REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/Files
to claim some 50,000 lives
each week.
He said although vaccines
“undoubtedly saved
many lives”, inequitable
sharing of doses resulted in
many deaths.
“As we approach a new
year, we must all learn the
painful lessons this year
taught us. 2022 must be the
end of the COVID-19 pandemic,”
Tedros said. “But it
must also be the beginning
of something else – a new
era of solidarity,”
New WHO guidance
recommends that health
workers use either a respirator
or medical mask, in
addition to other personal
protective equipment
(PPE), when entering the
room of a patient with
suspected or confirmed
COVID-19.
“Respirators, which
includes masks known
as N95, FFP2 and others,
should especially be
worn in settings with poor
ventilation,” the guidance
says.
As many health workers
across the world are unable
to access these items,
WHO is urging manufacturers
and countries to
scale up production, procurement
and distribution
of both respirators and
medical masks.
A warning against vaccine
boosters amid vax inequity
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Health Commissioner
Pediatricians recommend
the COVID-19 vaccine
for 5-17 year olds.
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