The head of the European branch of the World Health Organization agrees with America’s leading infectious disease expert that a third dose of coronavirus vaccines can help protect the most vulnerable people and should not be seen as a “Luxury reinforcement”.
Dr Hans Kluge on Monday cited “deeply disturbing” levels of transmission, saying 33 countries of the 53 that make up WHO-Europe have reported a 10% or more increase in cases in the past two weeks.
Kluge said he spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci this month, noting that they shared the same conviction that “a third vaccine is not a fancy booster taken from someone who is still waiting for the first injection ”.
“It’s basically a way of keeping the people safe, the most vulnerable,” Kluge said. He added that rich countries with excessive doses “need to share them” with countries that lack them.
At WHO headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other senior officials have called for a moratorium on booster vaccines, saying the priority should be to give doses to those who have not received even the first.
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