Israel on Monday began administering a third Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to some of its citizens.
The shots, which Axios says are the first public-facing COVID-19 booster shots to be administered anywhere in the world, are meant to combat the developing wave of delta variant infections in the country due to fears that existing vaccine protocols are not good. . enough to avoid it. For now, the vaccines are for others with weakened immune systems, The Times of Israel reports, and Israel’s Ministry of Health is expanding the program to the general public.
Providing the most powerful coverage imaginable to those most at risk may seem like a smart concept at first glance, but not everyone agrees. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized Israel at a press conference on Monday, necessarily calling it selfish. .
“Lately we are making conscious decisions not to protect those who need it most,” Tedros said. “Currently, the data show us that vaccination provides long-lasting immunity against severe and deadly COVID-19. Now it’s time to vaccinate those who haven’t won any doses or shields. “
Tedros went on to say that those extra shots deserve to have gone to countries that don’t have the same access point to vaccines as their wealthier neighbors like Israel, so that other people who have already been vaccinated could triple that number.
“Instead of Moderna and Pfizer prioritizing the source of vaccines in the form of boosters to countries with larger political populations, we want them to make every effort to channel the source to COVAX, the Africa Vaccine Procurement Task Force, and low- and middle-income countries. low-income countries that have a very low vaccination policy,” he added.
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