Rich countries ‘must give 1bn vaccines’ to poor – COVID-19 panel

ABSTRACT

Speed read COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented, independent panel finds Delays in response, denial of science resulted in global crisis Rich nations must step up with vaccine doses for poorer countries Richer countries must provide low- and middle-income countries with at least one billion vaccine doses by September, an independent panel on COVID-19 has urged in a damning report that says the deadly pandemic could have been avoided. The panel said vaccine production needed to be scaled up “urgently and equitably” across the globe, with manufacturing capacity built up in Africa, Latin America and other low- and middle-income regions, as current production capacity was stretched to the limit. Peter Piot, head of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, welcomed calls for a Global Health Threats Council and urged immediate action on vaccine redistribution.