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* Global body disapproves of boosters until more people
vaccinated
* Some rich nations going ahead anyway to fend off Delta
variant
* Elderly and vulnerable to benefit first from booster shots
* Low-income nations suffer from lack of vaccine supplies
(Adds details throughout)
By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Caroline Copley
PARIS/BERLIN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Germany, France and Israel
will go ahead with plans to administer COVID-19 vaccine
boosters, disregarding an appeal by the World Health
Organisation to hold off until more people are vaccinated around
the world.
The decision to press ahead with booster shots despite the
WHO's strongest statement yet highlights the huge inequities in
responses to the pandemic as richer nations ramp up programmes
to protect citizens from the more infectious Delta variant.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France was working on
rolling out third doses to the elderly and vulnerable from
September.
Germany intends to give boosters to immunocompromised
patients, the very elderly and nursing home residents from
September, the health ministry said.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged older citizens
to get a third shot after the government last month kicked off a
campaign to give booster doses.
"Whoever is over the age of 60, and has yet to receive the
third dose of the vaccine, is six times more susceptible to
severe illness and - heaven forbid - death," Bennett said in a
statement.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on Wednesday for
a halt to boosters until at least the end of September, saying
it was unacceptable for rich countries to use more of the global
vaccine supply.
INEQUALITIES MOUNT
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
health ministry said.
Following Tedros' comments, the White House said on
Wednesday it was prepared to provide booster shots if needed,
suggesting it would not heed the WHO's call either.
Pfizer has said boosters are most likely needed
because of waning antibody responses, particularly after six
months.
U.S. health regulators have said that more scientific
evidence is needed to be certain boosters are needed, but have
indicated they believe a third shot may be needed for people
with compromised immune systems.
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 and Nicolas Delame in Paris,
Alexander Ratz and Caroline Copley in Berlin; Editing by Nick
Macfie, Josephine Mason, Andrew Cawthorne)
