Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Khmer Daily Cambodia News
34 °c
Phnom Penh
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
The Khmer Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home World

WHO blasts ‘vaccine nationalism’ in last-ditch push against hoarding

August 19, 2020
in World
0
WHO blasts ‘vaccine nationalism’ in last-ditch push against hoarding
0
SHARES
7
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

GENEVA/MANILA – Nations that hoard possible Covid-19 vaccines while excluding others will deepen the pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday, issuing a last-ditch call for countries to join a global vaccine pact.

The WHO has an Aug. 31 deadline for wealthier nations to join the “COVAX Global Vaccines Facility” for sharing vaccine hopefuls with developing countries. Tedros said he sent a letter to the WHO’s 194 member states, urging participation.

The global health agency also raised concerns that the pandemic’s spread was being driven now by younger people, many of whom were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups.

Tedros’ push for nations to join COVAX comes as the European Union, Britain, Switzerland and the United States strike deals with companies testing prospective vaccines. Russia and China are also working on vaccines, and the WHO fears national interests could impede global efforts.

“We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” Tedros told a virtual briefing. “Sharing finite supplies strategically and globally is actually in each country’s national interest.”

The European Commission has urged EU states to skirt the WHO-led initiative, citing worries over its cost and speed.

More than 21.9 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 772,647​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.

‘NOT TWISTING ARMS’

So far, the COVAX facility has attracted interest from 92 poorer countries hoping for voluntary donations and 80 wealthier countries, a number little changed from a month ago, that would finance the scheme, the WHO said.

Still, some nations are waiting for the Aug. 31 deadline before making a commitment as the facility’s terms are still being finalised, Bruce Aylward, who leads the WHO’s ACT Accelerator initiative to speed supplies of Covid-19 diagnostics, drugs and vaccines, said.

“We are not twisting arms for people to join,” Aylward said. “We’ve had more and more discussions with a broader and broader group of players … to work through what might be the barriers to collaborating – issues around price, issues around timing, issues around national expectations.”

With more than 150 vaccines in development, about two dozen in human studies and a handful in late-stage trials, the WHO said even countries signing bilateral deals boost their odds by joining COVAX.

“Which one will be the candidate that will be successful, we don’t know yet,” said Mariangela Simao, a WHO assistant director for drug and vaccine access. “By joining the facility at the same time that you do bilateral deals, you’re actually betting on a larger number of vaccine candidates.”

COVAX now covers nine vaccine candidates.

The WHO remains worried that infections among younger people are rising globally, putting at risk elderly and sick people in densely populated areas with weak health systems.

“The epidemic is changing,” WHO Western Pacific regional director, Takeshi Kasai, said. “People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving the spread.”

This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.

Tags: #coronavirus#COVID-19#Vaccines
Previous Post

A Covid-19 vaccine may be developed, but will people use it?

Next Post

Study links Covid-19 to rise in childhood type 1 diabetes

Related Posts

Italy to pass ‘right to be forgotten’ law for cancer survivors

Italy to pass ‘right to be forgotten’ law for cancer survivors

by AsiaOne
June 15, 2023
0
24

ROME — Italy will pass a law on the "right to be forgotten" (RTBF) for cancer survivors, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni...

Bill Gates in China: Microsoft co-founder to meet Xi Jinping

Bill Gates in China: Microsoft co-founder to meet Xi Jinping

by AsiaOne
June 15, 2023
0
38

HONG KONG — Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp's co-founder, is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday (June 16) during his...

US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision

US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision

by AsiaOne
June 15, 2023
0
29

WASHINGTON - A US judge late on Tuesday (June 13) granted the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request to temporarily block Microsoft...

Most Popular

$2 million electric motorbike assembly plant in Cambodia by Verywords Co Ltd launched

$2 million electric motorbike assembly plant in Cambodia by Verywords Co Ltd launched

May 30, 2023
48
EZECOM first to collaborate with AWS to provide leading Cloud service for Cambodia

EZECOM first to collaborate with AWS to provide leading Cloud service for Cambodia

March 15, 2022
43
Ford Cambodia, operated by RMA Cambodia, brings vehicles and technical training

Ford Cambodia, operated by RMA Cambodia, brings vehicles and technical training

September 1, 2020
56
Tire factory in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone officially launched

Tire factory in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone officially launched

May 23, 2023
95
Innovation key to Cambodia’s garment industry growth

Innovation key to Cambodia’s garment industry growth

December 3, 2021
16
Approval in principle for new domestic airport in Mondulkiri province

Approval in principle for new domestic airport in Mondulkiri province

January 4, 2021
20

© 2020 By Khmer Daily News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Cambodia
  • ASIA
  • World
  • Business
  • Tech

© 2019 The Khmer Daily.

error: Content is protected !!