The head of the World Health Organization called for a moratorium on vaccine boosters Wednesday. The video above shows Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus talking about a moratorium in Geneva, as well as the White House’s response from Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“We call on vaccine producers to prioritize COVAX and we call on everyone with influence – Olympic athletes, investors, business leaders, faith leaders and every individual in their own family and community to support our call for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September,” Ghebreyesus said.
Back in May, Ghebreyesus set a goal to make sure 10 percent of people in every country is vaccinated by the end of September. “We are now more than halfway to that target date, but we are not on track,” Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO has argued no one is safe until everyone is safe, saying the longer and more widely the coronavirus circulates, the greater the chance that new variants could emerge. That could prolong the global pandemic.
Ghebreyesus noted the disparity between vaccinations in richer countries and poorer countries has only gotten worse since May. “When I issued that challenge in May, high-income countries had administered around 50 doses for every 100 people. Since then, that number has doubled,” Ghebreyesus said. “High-income countries have now administered almost 100 doses for every 100 people. Meanwhile, low-income countries have only been able to administer 1.5 doses for every 100 people due to lack of supply.”
He made a direct appeal to those wealthier countries, saying “It’s no understatement to say that the course of the pandemic depends on the leadership of the G-20.”
The WHO has no power to require countries to act. In the past, many countries have ignored the WHO’s appeals on things like donating vaccines, limiting cross-border travel and taking steps to boost production of vaccines in developing countries.
When asked about the moratorium, Press Secretary Psaki called it “a false choice”. “We’ve taken action on the global level far more than any country around the world,” Psaki said. “We also in this country have enough supply to ensure that every American has access to a vaccine. We will have enough supply to ensure if the FDA decides that boosters are recommended for a portion of the population to provide those as well. We believe we can do both and we don’t need to make that choice.”
WHO officials say the science is unproven about whether giving booster shots to people who have already received two vaccine doses is effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.