Vaccination prevents arising of new Covid variants: WHO Chief Scientist

20 August 2021 09:06 am Views - 267

• Vaccination reduced deaths by protecting the vulnerable
• WHO has called for a moratorium on booster shots until the low and middle income countries inoculated their populations
• WHO is calling for 40 percent population coverage of every country by the end of 2021

By Kelum Bandara   

Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan said vaccination against Covid -19 can prevent new variants arising by reducing the transmission.  

In a Twitter message, she said vaccination reduced deaths by protecting the vulnerable. She said these were two good reasons to ensure equitable vaccine distribution globally. “WHO is calling for 40 percent population coverage of every country by the end of 2021,” she said .

The WHO has called for a moratorium on booster shots until the low and middle income countries inoculated their populations . WHO Director of the Health Emergencies Programme Dr. Mike Ryan , in his analogy to describe the ethical dilemma around booster shots , said ,”We’re planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets and leaving other people to drown without a life jacket. That’s the ethical reality.” He said this during a WHO press conference held in Geneva on Wednesday.

• We’re planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets and leaving other people to drown without a life jacket. That’s the ethical reality