The head of the World Health Organization said Monday the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines is at "serious risk."
Warning of a "catastrophic moral failure," WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "the recent emergence of rapidly-spreading variants makes the rapid and equitable rollout of vaccines all the more important."
But he added that this distribution could easily become "another brick in the wall for inequality between the world’s haves and have-nots."
While more 39 million doses of several different vaccines have now been administered in at least 49 higher-income countries, he said, just 25 doses had been given in one lowest-income country.
"The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries."
Beginning his speech, Tedros had emphasized that the development and approval of safe coronavirus vaccines less than a year after the virus’ emergence in China, in late 2019, was a "stunning achievement and a much needed source of hope."
However, he added that "it’s not right that younger, healthier adults in rich countries are vaccinated before health workers and older people in poorer countries."
