WHO chief calls booster shots ‘immoral’ and ‘unfair’ with low vaccine rate in Africa
The World Health Organization’s leader is continuing his campaign against booster shots in wealthy countries.
“Broad administration of booster doses is unfair, unjust [and] immoral at a time when health workers [and] at most risk people in many countries, mainly in Africa, haven’t received a first vaccination dose,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote Tuesday in a tweet.
Tedros has consistently criticized booster shots for the general population because of the vaccine shortage in poorer countries. He previously called them “unconscionable.”
According to the director-general, only 7% of people in Africa have received at least one shot, CNN reported. That number is above 50% on all other populated continents.
The WHO’s official guidance on boosters stresses that “Improving coverage of the primary vaccination series should be prioritized over booster vaccination.” However, it does recognize the importance of boosters for people with weaker immune systems and elderly people.
