The World Health Organization chief on Monday denounced drug manufacturers’ profits and inequality in vaccines, saying it is “not right” that younger, healthier adults in rich countries are vaccinated against COVID-19 for the elderly or health workers in poorer countries. Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said most vaccine manufacturers target locations where “the profits are highest.”
Tedros kicked off the WHO’s board meeting that lasted a week – virtually from headquarters in Geneva – by lamenting that one poor country received only 25 doses of vaccine, while more than 39 million doses were delivered in nearly 50 wealthier countries.
“Only 25 doses have been given in one country with the lowest incomes – not 25 million, not 25,000 – just 25. I have to be blunt: the world is on the brink of catastrophic moral failure,” said Tedros. He did not name the country, but a WHO spokeswoman called it Guinea.
“It is good that all governments want to prioritize the vaccination of their own health workers and the elderly,” he said. “But it is not correct that younger, healthier adults in rich countries are more likely to be vaccinated than health workers and older people in poorer countries. There will be enough vaccine for everyone.”
Tedros, an Ethiopian who bears his first name, nonetheless praised the scientific achievement behind the coronavirus vaccine rollout less than a year after the pandemic broke out in China, where a WHO-backed team has now been deployed to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.
“Vaccines are the shot in the arm we all need, literally and figuratively,” said Tedros. “But we now face the real danger that, even if vaccines give some hope, they will become a new stone in the wall of inequality between the worlds of the haves and have-nots of the world.”
He noted that the WHO-backed COVAX program, which aims to ship vaccines to all countries, rich or poor, based on need, has so far obtained 2 billion vaccine doses from five manufacturers and options for a billion more doses .
“We aim to start deliveries in February,” he said. “COVAX is ready to deliver what it was made for.”
That target date could be daunting, as a major vaccine producer for developing countries – the Serum Institute of India – has not confirmed a date and has predicted that the rollout will not take place before March or April.
In his opening address, Tedros voiced some of his harshest public words to date towards vaccine manufacturers, criticizing “bilateral agreements” between them and countries that the WHO says could affect the effectiveness of the COVAX facility – and went on to address the issue of to address the profit.
“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that most manufacturers have prioritized regulatory approval in rich countries, where profits are highest, rather than submitting full files to WHO,” he said.
That seemed to hint at a shortage of data the UN health agency says it has received from vaccine manufacturers, allowing WHO to approve their recordings for wider use in emergencies.
After the the global COVID-19 death toll was more than 2 million On Friday, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres pleaded with the world’s leading economies to ensure that vaccine distribution is fair.
“Vaccines reach high-income countries quickly, while the world’s poorest have none at all. Science is succeeding – but solidarity is lacking,” he said. “Governments have a responsibility to protect their populations, but ‘vaccinationalism’ is self-destructive and will delay a global recovery.”
Dr. Clement Martin Auer, a board member from Austria, had sharp words and questions for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, which also leads COVAX with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
While Auer called his principles of equal access to vaccines a “fantastic idea,” Auer accused COVAX as “slow” and unable to secure “critical numbers” of contracts. He defended the European Union, which includes many of the richest countries in the world among its 27 members, for obtaining vaccines for its 450 million citizens and as “the single largest donor” in supporting COVAX.
“We were skeptical in the European Union that GAVI-COVAX had the resources and capabilities to perform its duties and to conclude the necessary contracts and safeguard the needs of our citizens,” said Auer, adding that it COVAX management “had rejected” proposals negotiated by GAVI and the EU.
He said that early last year, GAVI-COVAX had not included mRNA vaccines like those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in the COVAX portfolio.
“This was a big mistake, given that the mRNAs are the first on the market and the gold standards when it comes to COVID vaccines,” Auer said.
The WHO has approved Pfzier-BioNTech for emergency use against the coronavirus and could approve Moderna this week.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, a special adviser to Tedros, said WHO “had detailed discussions with Pfizer. We believe we will have access to that product very soon.” He said the mRNA vaccines are “important” but “extremely difficult” – referring, among other things, to cold chain requirements, and are “extremely expensive.”
“What we’re aiming for is to have at least 20% of the world vaccinated this year, and more ideally,” Aylward said. “We are in a strong position to go global with vaccines. We especially need the help of our member states to make this a reality.”
In related vaccine news, Israel has struck a deal with Pfizer promising to share massive amounts of medical data with the international drug giant in exchange for the continued flow of its hard-to-get vaccine.
Proponents say the deal could allow Israel to become the first country to vaccinate most of its population, while providing valuable research that could help the rest of the world. But critics say the deal raises major ethical concerns, including potential privacy issues and a deepening global gap in access to coronavirus vaccines.
Due to the ultra-cold storage required for the Pfizer vaccine, it is more expensive and more difficult to use than some competitors, including the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, but studies show it to be very effective. Israeli media has reported that Israel paid at least 50% more than other countries for the Pfizer vaccine.