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PARIS/BERLIN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Germany and France will go
ahead with COVID-19 vaccine boosters from September,
disregarding an appeal by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to
hold off until more people are vaccinated across the globe.
The decision to press ahead with booster shots despite the
strongest statement yet from the WHO highlights the challenge of
dealing with a global pandemic while countries try to protect
their own citizens from the more infectious Delta variant.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France was working on
rolling out third COVID-19 vaccine doses to the elderly and
vulnerable from September.
"A third dose will likely be necessary, not for everyone
straightaway, but in any case for the most vulnerable and the
most elderly," Macron said on his Instagram account.
Germany intends to give boosters to immunocompromised
patients, the very elderly and nursing home residents from
September, the health ministry said.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on Wednesday for
a halt to vaccine boosters until at least the end of September,
saying it was unacceptable for rich countries to use more of the
global vaccine supply.
High-income countries administered around 50 doses for every
100 people in May, and that number has since doubled, according
to WHO. Low-income countries have only been able to administer
1.5 doses for every 100 people, due to lack of supplies.
"I understand the concern of all governments to protect
their people from the Delta variant. But we cannot accept
countries that have already used most of the global supply of
vaccines using even more of it," Tedros said.
Germany rejected those accusations, saying it would also
donate at least 30 million vaccine doses to poorer countries.
"We want to provide the vulnerable groups in Germany with a
precautionary third vaccination and at the same time support the
vaccination of as many people in the world as possible," the
ministry said.
Macron's government is trying to step up France's
vaccination programme as the country faces a fourth wave of the
virus and street demonstrations in protest against the
government's COVID policies.
France and Germany have so far given at least one dose of a
COVID-19 vaccine to 64.5% and 62% of their respective
populations, with 49% of the French and 53% of Germans
fully-vaccinated.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Nicolas Delame, Alexander Ratz
and Caroline Copley; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nick Macfie)
