Coronavirus: Global vaccine equity threatened by national self-interest, says UN
- ‘No one, no country will be safe until everybody is safe,’ says UN Secretary General
- 78 self-financing countries have publicly announced intent to join COVAX but China and the US have not signed up
“We must also overcome, and this is linked to the possible lack of funding, the worrying trend of numerous parallel initiatives and nationally focused efforts, that are not only undermining an effective global response, they will be self-defeating,” Guterres said.
“It is in the best interest of all countries to ensure equitable access to new vaccines. As it was already said, no one, no country will be safe until everybody is safe.”
The vaccine pillar of the ACT-Accelerator – the COVAX facility – was set up to accelerate the development and manufacture of vaccines but the deadline for self-financing countries to sign up was delayed from August to September 18, prompting questions over the viability of the scheme after the United States said it would not join and countries such as China were still in discussion.