The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has asked rich countries to verify whether this threatens attempts to provide vaccination shots to developing nations before ordering additional COVID-19 vaccine shots for themselves.
Several billion vaccine doses have been snapped up by developed nations and some nations have ordered enough shots to vaccinate their populations more than once, while some developing world countries have little or no shots.
To stem the pandemic, an effective global vaccination program is considered crucial.
The UN-backed COVAX program, which seeks to offer vaccines to the most disadvantaged people in the world and is considering sharing some of their own doses, has been financially sponsored by European nations, but they have not specified when.
Leaders of the Group of Seven Industrial Powers on Friday said they will accelerate the global production and implementation of vaccines and encourage “affordable and equitable access to vaccines” and COVID-19 treatments.
They cited the G7’s combined $7.5 billion in UN-backed efforts.
