Vaccinate 10% of people by September: WHO chief to nations

London: Voicing concern over many countries failing to vaccinate their people, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday called for vaccinating at least 10 per cent of the population of every country by September as he described vaccination as the best way to control the pandemic and reboot the global economy.

"Vast inequities in the access to vaccines are fuelling a two-track pandemic. While some countries have reached a high level of coverage, many others don't have enough to vaccinate health workers, older people & other at-risk groups," the World Health Organisation Director General said in a virtual address to India Global Forum.

Asserting that when some countries cannot vaccinate, it's a threat to all countries, Ghebreyesus called for a global effort to vaccinate at least 10 per cent of the population of every country by September, at least 40 per cent by the end of the year, and at least 70 per cent by the middle of next year. "Vaccine equity is not just the right thing to do. It's the best way to control the pandemic and reboot the global economy," the WHO chief said as he warned that "until we end the pandemic everywhere, we will not end it anywhere."