Widely unfair: UN says 130 countries haven't received single COVID-19 vaccine dose

New York [US], February 18 (ANI): United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday (local time) slammed the "wildly uneven and unfair" distribution of coronavirus vaccines and said that only 10 countries have administered 75 per cent of all vaccinations and demanding a global effort to get all people in every nation inoculated as soon as possible.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Guterres, while addressing a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council, said 130 countries have not received a single dose of vaccine.
"At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community," he said.
The UN chief called for an urgent 'Global Vaccination Plan' to bring together those with the power to ensure fair vaccine distribution - scientists, vaccine producers and those who can fund the effort - to ensure all people in every nation get inoculated as soon as possible, Al Jazeera reported.
He urged the leading economic members of G20 to establish an emergency task force to bring together "the pharmaceutical companies and key industry and logistics actors".
Earlier on Wednesday, US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) had emphasised the need to expand access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
He also urged the countries to not allow "usage of the vaccine as an excuse to violate human rights or fundamental freedoms".
"To better understand this pandemic and prepare for the next one, all countries must make available all data from the earliest days of any outbreak. And going forward, all countries should participate in a transparent and robust process for preventing and responding to health emergencies, so the world learns as much as possible as soon as possible. Transparency, information sharing, access for international experts - these must be the hallmarks of our common approach to what is truly a global challenge," he added. (ANI)