Fairness in vaccine distribution can end COVID-19: UN chief

WASHINGTON

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that fairness in global vaccination could end the coronavirus pandemic, warning that people and countries are paying a price of vaccine inequity.

"If we want to ensure vaccinations for everyone to end this pandemic, we must first inject fairness into the system," Guterres said at a fundraiser for "The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator" (the ACT-Accelerator) campaign.

"We are entering the third year of the pandemic – and the world is still far from meeting crucial targets."

The UN chief said the vaccine supply and roll-out are ramping up exponentially and "we are making up for lost time in many countries. The end of this pandemic can be within our sights – this year... But we need to act now."

Praising the ACT-Accelerator for providing a costed, coordinated and credible path out of the pandemic, Guterres called for nations to make their fair share of financial contributions.

"Above all, we need urgent investment in timely vaccine delivery and increasing testing. This is a matter of fairness – but also it is a matter of justice – and it is a matter of plain old common sense.

"We can end the pandemic this year," he said.

The ACT-Accelerator is asking donor countries to contribute $16.8 billion of the $23.4 billion budget in immediate grant funding for October 2021 to September 2022, according to the World Health Organization.