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The Prime Minister will ask his fellow G7 leaders in Cornwall to commit to vaccinating the world’s population against coronavirus by the end of 2022.
With the face-to-face meeting of leaders taking place on Friday, Boris Johnson plans to use the UK G7 presidency to implore his counterparts to “face the greatest challenge of the post-war era” and end the pandemic. by ensuring that everyone in the world has access to a jab within the next 18 months.
“Next week, the leaders of the world’s largest democracies will meet at a historic moment for our countries and for the planet,” Johnson said.
“The world expects us to rise to the greatest challenge of the postwar era: defeating Covid and leading a global recovery driven by our shared values.
“Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the greatest feat in medical history.
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Global Covid-19 Cases and Deaths / PA Graphics
“I call on my fellow G7 leaders to join us in ending this terrible pandemic and I promise that we will never allow the devastation caused by the coronavirus to happen again.”
The call comes after the UK government has faced questions about its own dose donations to Covax, the United Nations-backed plan that aims to make the vaccines available to low- and middle-income countries. .
MPs and colleagues wrote to Johnson last week urging him to follow the lead of Germany, France and Italy, which have pledged to donate at least 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines before the end of the year, while saying that El The UK had so far only committed to donating future leftover injections to Covax.
The Health Secretary told reporters on Friday that the UK would “absolutely” seek to donate additional doses, fulfilling a government promise made in February, but that none were currently available.
“At the moment we do not have excessive doses, we are just taking them up as quickly as possible,” Matt Hancock told reporters.
Downing Street argued that the UK had “led efforts to ensure that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people have access to vaccines,” referring to the role played by the Westminster government in funding the Oxford / AstraZeneca jab.
With the jab available at cost, No. 10 said that nearly one in three injections administered worldwide has been the Oxford vaccine, with 96% of the 80 million injections administered by Covax supplied by AstraZeneca.
Coronavirus – Friday, April 9, 2021 / PA Wire
Officials also highlighted the “significant financial contribution” of £ 548 million given to Covax in its initial training.
G7 leaders will arrive at Carbis Bay in Cornwall on Friday for three days of meetings, with a focus on how the group, which includes the United States and Germany, can lead the global recovery from the coronavirus, authorities said.
Issue 10 said the prime minister will tell them that in order to end the coronavirus pandemic for good, the world’s largest economies must go further and commit to vaccinating the world by the end of next year.
He is ready to make the case for intensifying vaccine manufacturing, reducing barriers to international distribution of these vaccines, and sharing excess doses with developing countries bilaterally and through Covax.
During those sessions, leaders, including those from Canada, Japan, France and Italy, will be joined virtually by experts, including UK Senior Scientific Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance, philanthropist Melinda French Gates and environmentalist David Attenborough.
On Saturday, the G7 countries will join in person or virtually with the leaders of Australia, South Africa, South Korea and India to discuss health and climate change.
In addition to calling on leaders to push forward efforts to vaccinate the world, the Prime Minister will ask for their support for the Global Pandemic Radar, a new global surveillance system that will protect immunization programs against new vaccine-resistant variants by detecting them earlier. that they have a chance to spread.
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