WHO and UN announce new strategy to meet COVID vaccination targets

The World Health Organization and the United Nations have mapped out steps to meet world COVID-19 vaccination targets.

The Strategy to Achieve Global COVID-19 Vaccination by mid-2022was announced by the WHO in a bid to end what the organization calls a "two-track pandemic", where people in poorer countries continue to be at risk while those in richer countries with high vaccination rates enjoy much greater protection.

The new strategy outlines a plan for achieving the WHO's targets to vaccinate 40 percent of the population of every country by the end of this year and 70 percent by mid-2022.

During a media briefing on Thursday, United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres,and WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called on countries and vaccine manufacturers to address vaccine inequality.

"Science has played its part by delivering powerful, life-saving tools faster than for any outbreak in history," said Tedros. "But the concentration of those tools in the hands of a few countries and companies has led to a global catastrophe, with the rich protected while the poor remain exposed to a deadly virus. We can still achieve the targets for this year and next, but it will take a level of political commitment, action and cooperation, beyond what we have seen to date."

The WHO has called on a three-step approach to achieve global vaccination targets with all older adults, health workers, and high-risk groups of all ages, in every country vaccinated first, followed by the full adult age group in every country and lastly extended vaccination of adolescents.

"This is a costed, coordinated and credible path out of the COVID-19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere," said Guterres. "Without a coordinated, equitable approach, a reduction of cases in any one country will not be sustained over time. For everyone's sake, we must urgently bring all countries to a high level of vaccination coverage."

The WHO said with global vaccine production at nearly 1.5 billion doses per month, there is sufficient vaccine to achieve the global vaccination targets as long as there is equitable distribution of those doses.

Tedros pointed out that high- and upper-middle income countries have used 75 percent of all vaccines produced so far, while low-income countries have received less than half of one percent of the world's vaccines.

"In Africa, less than 5 percent of people are fully vaccinated," Tedros said.

The Strategy is urging countries to update their national COVID-19 vaccine targets and plans, to guide manufacturing investment and vaccine distribution and countries with a high vaccine rate to swap vaccine delivery schedules, with COVAX and AVAT to enhance coverage in countries in need and establish new dose-sharing commitments.

The WHO is also calling on vaccine-producing countries to allow free cross-border flow of finished vaccines and raw materials, and to enable sharing of know-how, technology and licenses.

The organization also wants to see vaccine manufacturers to prioritize and fulfil contracts with COVAX and AVAT as a matter of urgency, to be more transparent on what is going where, and to share know-how and non-exclusive licenses to enable all regions to increase manufacturing capacity.

Tedros also urged civil society, community organizations and the private sector to continue to advocate for local, national and global equitable access not just to vaccines, but also to tests and treatments.