WHO says Covid booster programs limit vaccine supply for poor countries, could prolong pandemic

[WarGamer]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/22/who-says-covid-vaccine-booster-programs-will-prolong-pandemic.html

World Health Organization officials on Wednesday criticized blanket Covid-19 vaccine booster programs as poor countries struggle to obtain initial doses, warning that the unequal access to immunizations could lead to more mutated variants that drag out the crisis.

“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,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing.

[Turbineguy]

1. So......

American anti-vaxxers help people in Africa?

[WarGamer]

2. It's a bizarre claim... I'm still digesting it.

In essence he's saying "Don't waste resources on boosters, get the whole world vaxx'd or new variants will rip through third world populations.

But didn't I just read the other day that an African nation just destroyed 1 million doses of vax because it expired... no one wanted it?

[BigmanPigman]

7. I saw them destroying the doses on the news and am royally

pissed off about it. You hear one thing then you see another. It's difficult to form any conclusions based on the info given but I think there should be more info on this sort of thing.

[Demsrule86]

10. We have to consider the health of our population too...and I don't see how stopping boosters

and likely causing more sickness and death for the US would help with vaccine hesitancy.

[Hoyt]

3. Gotta admit, I thought there was going to be some attempt to ensure

poor countries got their “fair” share.

Clearly, trump wouldn’t have cared, but this is disturbing from a worldwide health standpoint, and from that of poor nations that may have been squeezed out.

[WarGamer]

4. Nigeria just destroyed a million doses

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-destroys-1-mln-donated-astrazeneca-vaccines-with-short-shelf-life-2021-12-22/

A lot of the world is dealing with vax hesitancy.

[Hoyt]

5. Thanks. Guess we are not only idiots. Just hope they have fair access,

whether or not populace gets it.

[WarGamer]

6. 6.5% of their population has been vaxx'd

[doc03]

8. Every time I see WHO says something the first thought is "Who was this person that said that"?

[Demsrule86]

9. I heard that before and don't agree. We can do both.

[madville]

11. If vaccine effectiveness wanes after just a few months

And new variants continue to emerge, I don’t see how it’s possible to keep the entire world “up to date” on vaccination regardless of if people get boosters or not.

The virus has the potential to mutate anytime it infects someone, regardless of if they are vaccinated or unvaccinated. With Omicron easily infecting vaccinated folks now, does it really matter if people are vaxxed or or not as far as trying to prevent new variants/mutations?

[LisaL]

12. Yep.

Vaccines wane, and variants are breaking through, so it won't be possible to prevent the spread, regardless.

[48656c6c6f20]

13. America needs to stand up

And pledge to vaccinate the world. This used to be who we were. I still can't believe we have not converted facilities to a "war time" production of vaccines. This needs to be bigger than the Manhattan project, bigger than the moon landing. We could become the world's really honest to God good guy. No strings attached just vaccinate.