Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Thursday – CBC

WHO Africa director laments ‘mockery of vaccine equity’ as richer countries go ahead with COVID booster shots

Aug 19, 2021

The Africa director for the World Health Organization has sharply criticized the decisions by some richer countries to roll out COVID-19 booster shots.

Matshidiso Moeti told journalists on Thursday that the decisions “threaten the promise of a brighter tomorrow for Africa.”

“As some richer countries hoard vaccines, they make a mockery of vaccine equity,” Moeti said.

African health officials, including the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had warned against booster shots in recent weeks as less than two per cent of the African continent’s population of 1.3 billion people is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Moeti noted that the latest resurgence in confirmed coronavirus cases across Africa is levelling off but that “Africa is encountering headwinds” as rich countries like the United States decide to roll out booster shots.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-canada-world-august19-2021-1.6145981