Tag:

delta variant

Genome surveillance by BMC finds 128 Covid cases caused by delta variant, 24 by kappa

by Medically Speaking Team August 24, 2021

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) GENOMIC SURVEILLANCE discovered 128 instances of Covid-19 caused by the delta variant in the city. The first batch of 188 swab samples gathered from the city for genome sequencing to discover mutations of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, was published on Monday.

Of the 188 samples, 128 are delta variants, 2 are alpha variants and 24 are kappa variants, the remaining 34 are non-significant/local variants. Delta and kappa variants come from a parent lineage – B.1.617, or the double mutant, which was first detected from samples in Vidarbha and was considered to be the main reason for the second wave of infections in India.

On August 4, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had inaugurated the city’s first genome sequencing laboratory in Kasturba Hospital. On Friday, the civic-run Kasturba Gandhi Hospital started genome sequencing, making it the first civic-run healthcare facility in the state to do so. The lab can test 384 samples in one round.

With certain relaxations announced across the state, including the resumption of local train travel for vaccinated citizens, the BMC has appealed to everyone to follow the Covid-19 measures like wearing masks, maintaining a safe distance, regular hand hygiene and avoiding crowds.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the delta variant has been found in at least 111 countries. Kappa variant is one of the two Covid variants –– the other being delta. According to the WHO, the kappa variant was first identified in India in October 2020. The alpha variant was first discovered in the UK, has been reported from as many as 178 countries, and has the largest footprint.

So far, Maharashtra relied on the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia, or INSACOG, a network of 10 laboratories established by the Union health ministry in December, for genome sequencing. In addition to the 10 laboratories identified by the Centre to conduct genome sequencing for all states, Maharashtra has signed an MoU with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology to carry out genome sequencing of around 3,600 Covid-19 samples per month.

August 24, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

‘Delta strain also hits vaccinated’: INSACOG consortium

by Medically Speaking Team August 23, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium (INSACOG), the consortium of 28 national genetic laboratories in India, has warned that vaccination breakthrough cases of Covid-19 are expected to happen in the country.

The multi-agency genetic sequencing consortium said that vaccination breakthroughs are common during Delta outbreaks and are expected in India as well. “Sequencing of vaccination breakthroughs in India is showing a very large proportion of Delta variant,” the consortium said.

The alert on Delta variant implies that vaccinated individuals do not get a free pass from the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. Persons who are vaccinated are as susceptible as unvaccinated for getting infected with Delta variant. However, the benefit from Covid vaccines is that they are efficient in reducing the severity, death and hospitalisation among vaccinated persons.

In the context of vaccination breakthrough cases, the INSACOG said United Kingdom has seen many instances where vaccinated persons have tested positive for Covid-19. “There has been concern about whether increasing vaccination breakthroughs in India are because of a new variant. It is noted that UK, with a population of about 6.7 crore, has reported about 18 lakh cases and 1.2 lakh vaccination breakthroughs with Delta, since April 2021,” it said.

A recent UK study of Covid infections by researchers from University of Oxford and published in preprint form on August 19, has said that the Pfizer-BionTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca (known as Covishield in India) vaccines are effective against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. However, their protection drops or wanes away over a period of time.

“Vaccination breakthroughs are common during Delta outbreaks and are expected in India as well. Concern regarding appearance of new variants should be calibrated in the context of such data. As of now sequencing of vaccination breakthroughs in India is also showing a very high proportion of Delta variant,” the consortium in its update, said.

The Delta variant continues to remain a major Variant of Concern (VOC) in India. “Continuing outbreaks across India are attributable to Delta variant, a susceptible population, reduced vaccine effectiveness in blocking transmission, and opportunities for transmission. Vaccination continues to be very effective in reducing severe disease and death,” the INSACOG made it clear.

August 23, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

COVID-19-induced antibodies effective against the delta variant, suggests study

by Medically Speaking Team August 18, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

Despite causing a surge in infections this summer that has resulted in thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 is not particularly good at evading the antibodies generated by vaccination, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The researchers analyzed a panel of antibodies generated by people in response to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and found that delta was unable to evade all but one of the antibodies they tested. Other variants of concern, such as beta, avoided recognition and neutralization by several of the antibodies.

In previous studies, co-senior author Ali Ellebedy, PhD, an associate professor of pathology & immunology, of medicine and of molecular microbiology, had shown that both natural infection and vaccination elicit lasting antibody production. But the length of the antibody response is only one aspect of protection. The breadth matters, too. An ideal antibody response includes a diverse set of antibodies with the flexibility to recognize many slightly different variants of the virus. Breadth confers resilience. Even if a few antibodies lose the ability to recognize a new variant, other antibodies in the arsenal should remain capable of neutralizing it.

“The fact that delta has outcompeted other variants does not mean that it’s more resistant to our antibodies compared to other variants,” said co-senior author Jacco Boon, PhD, an associate professor of medicine, of molecular microbiology and of pathology & immunology. “The ability of a variant to spread is the sum of many factors. Resistance to antibodies is just one factor. Another one is how well the variant replicates. A variant that replicates better is likely to spread faster, independent of its ability to evade our immune response. So delta is surging, yes, but there’s no evidence that it is better at overcoming vaccine-induced immunity compared to other variants.”

To assess the breadth of the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Ellebedy and colleagues — including co-first authors Aaron Schmitz, PhD, a research specialist; Jackson S. Turner, PhD, an instructor in pathology & immunology; and Zhuoming Liu, PhD, a staff scientist — extracted antibody-producing cells from three people who had received the Pfizer vaccine. They grew the cells in the laboratory and obtained from them a set of 13 antibodies that target the original strain that began circulating last year.

The researchers tested the antibodies against four variants of concern: alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Twelve of the 13 recognized alpha and delta, eight recognized all four variants, and one failed to recognize any of the four variants.

Scientists gauge an antibody’s usefulness by its ability to block virus from infecting and killing cells in a dish. So-called neutralizing antibodies that prevent infection are thought to be more powerful than antibodies that recognize the virus but can’t block infection, although both neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies contribute to defending the body.

The researchers found that five of the 13 antibodies neutralized the original strain. When they tested the neutralizing antibodies against the new variants, all five antibodies neutralized delta, three neutralized alpha and delta, and only one neutralized all four variants.

“In face of vaccination, delta is relatively a wimpy virus,” Ellebedy said. “If we had a variant that was more resistant like beta but spread as easily as delta, we’d be in more trouble.”

The antibody that neutralized all four variants of concern — as well as three additional variants tested separately — was called 2C08. In animal experiments, 2C08 also protected hamsters from disease caused by every variant tested: the original variant, delta and a mimic of beta.

Some people may have antibodies just as powerful as 2C08 protecting them against SARS-CoV-2 and its many variants, Ellebedy said. Using publicly available databases, the researchers discovered that about 20% of people infected or vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 create antibodies that recognize the same spot on the virus that is targeted by 2C08. Moreover, very few virus variants (.008%) carry mutations that allow them to escape antibodies targeting that spot.

“This antibody is not unique to the person we got it from,” Ellebedy said. “Multiple antibodies targeting this area have been described in the literature; at least one is under development as a COVID-19 therapy. Similar antibodies have been generated by people infected in Italy and people infected in China and people vaccinated in New York. So it’s not limited to people of certain backgrounds or ethnicities; it’s not generated only by vaccination or by infection. A lot of people make this antibody, which is great because it is very potent and neutralizes every variant we tested.”

Source: Washington University School of Medicine

August 18, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

Only 83 percent of Sputnik V’s effectiveness against Delta

by Medically Speaking August 12, 2021

written by Medically Speaking

According to Russia’s health minister, Mikhail Murashko, the Sputnik V vaccine against Covid is only about 83 percent effective against the Delta variant, which is lower than previously thought. In June, the vaccine’s creators claimed that Sputnik V was 90% effective against the variant. ”The latest results show that effectiveness is around 83 percent,” Murashko said, according to the Tass news agency.

August 12, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

Delta causes more hospitalizations, but Delta Plus isn’t as dangerous: India’s health ministry on Covid strains

by Medically Speaking August 11, 2021

written by Medically Speaking

The Union health ministry stated on Tuesday that 86 Delta Plus cases have been found in the country in the previous four months, demonstrating that this version has no more impact than the Delta variant. New discoveries on Delta, on the other hand, demonstrate how strong and quickly transmissible the mutation is, according to Niti Aayog (health) member VK Paul. It also increases hospitalisation, Dr Paul said. But as established by recent studies, India has vaccines that are effective against the Delta variant. “We are better placed against Delta,” Dr Paul said.

Then the transmissibility of the original virus was 100, Alpha was 160 and Delta is 250. Its strength is emerging in front of us now. It is fast and many people are getting infected by one person.,” Dr Paul explained.

“New cases coming from Wuhan has shown that the gap between being exposed to the virus and getting infected is shorter than the previous strains. And the virus load is much bigger. This explains why it’s more transmissible. It has also emerged that Delta increases hospitalisation,” Dr Paul said.

The ministry also published the reproduction rate of the states and said that if the reproduction rate of Covid-19 is higher in any state, it indicates that there will be a rapid spread in future, even if the number of fresh infections at present may not be alarming. The reproductive number helps experts understand the rate at which the virus is spreading. In its weekly briefing on Tuesday, the joint secretary of the Union health ministry Lav Agarwal said the R number of India at present stands at 1, which means one person is spreading the infection to one another person. The R factor will be below the danger level only when it dips below 1.

According to health ministry data, Himachal Pradesh, which was flooded with tourists soon after restrictions were eased after the second wave of the pandemic, has a reproduction number of 1.3 and it has an increasing trend. In Punjab, the number is 1.3, which is also increasing. The spread of the infection in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh is 1.1, and the trend is stable. Uttar Pradesh has a reproductive rate of 1.1 with a likely increasing trend. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh has an R factor of 1.0 and a likely increasing trend.

The ministry on Tuesday said that 37 districts falling in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Mizoram are still reporting an increasing trend in daily new cases during the last two weeks.

August 11, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

Ideal to wait for 3 months post recovery before getting vaccinated

by Medically Speaking Team August 9, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

‘If you have a healthy immune system but administer a trigger too soon after the first infection, your immune system will not respond as effectively as it should. Delaying it too long, on the other hand, may result in re-infection, which could be fatal. As a result, it’s best to get vaccinated three months following the initial infection, because an infection during this time isn’t deemed dangerous’, Dr Rajesh Malhotra explains when asked about the optimal time for vaccination of Covid recovered patients.

Following are a few snippets from the discussion with the AIIMS Trauma Centre Chief:

What is the co-relation between Covid Immunity and the vaccination?

Dr. Rajesh Malhotra: The level of immunity is different in each individual and the robustness of the response may vary across ages, comorbidities, sex, etc. Natural infection mounts immunity and vaccination but the immune response mounted by vaccine is much more robust because the infection manipulates immune system in order to thrive in the body, as per a study conducted by a University in London.

People who developed immune response after getting infected by Sars in 2003 carried circulating Antibodies in their bodies in 2020. Therefore, some people may carry the immunity against coronavirus for a lifetime whereas some may get reinfected due to their weak immune system. Another cause for recurrence is the variant, which goes unidentified by the body. Third reason could be if a person’s immune system is fully compromised and has got the persistent infection for months together, the virus inside his body may mutate and come out as a variant which can cause a reinfection. Fortunately, these possibilities are rare.

Can someone, who has developed a mutation, spread the infection while in recovery stage?

Dr. Rajesh Malhotra: A healthy person can recover from Covid in 14-17 days but may spread virus which is dead cannot multiply. On the other hand, an immunocompromised person who has virus multiplying in his body can spread live virus. They may also land up with a mutant due to its prolonged stay because it is a known fact that mutations occur during the prolonged stay of a virus.

What should the immunosuppressed person do in such a condition?

Dr. Rajesh Malhotra: They must wear mask at all times as they may shed mutants. Secondly, they must get vaccinated and if they are vaccinated, various agencies have recommended a booster response in order to control the infection. But the most effective way out is early administration of monoclonal antibodies which can mitigate the persistence of the virus and also the emergence of the variants in their bodies. They should also be isolated from their family members and the family should be vaccinated which will cause an important epidemiological intervention.

Is it a right approach to get vaccinated right after the recovery?

Dr Rajesh Malhotra: The right approach is to get vaccinated which reduces the risk of infection by half. The period between two infections is roughly around hundred days which means that the safe time to get vaccinated is within three months of recovering from the first infection.

I would not worry about antibodies in an immunocompetent people. The other fact that people forget that T-Cells are the most important among the four forces that fight the infection (Antibodies, B-Cells, T-Helper Cells and Killer T-Cells), while antibodies are only ammunitions.

Are you saying that a recovered Covid patient need not get an antibody test right away and can wait 90 days before getting vaccinated?

Dr Rajesh Malhotra: There are no such drugs that can counter the virus, just some drugs that reduce replications. If you have a competent immune system and give a trigger too early after the first infection, the response will not be as robust as intended. On the other hand, delaying it too long may cause re-infection that may be fatal. Thus, it is ideal to get vaccinated after 3 months of the first infection because having an infection in this period of time will not be considered harmful.

Question: Everyone is talking about the third wave. What is the status actually, is it still impending or is it already here?

Dr Rajesh Malhotra: Epidemic has not checked off. Secondly, virus has not been conquered. There is always a risk that it could come back in a way that it could escape the immune system and the vaccination. UK and USA are going through fourth wave, Japan is going through the fifth wave while many countries like South Africa and Bangladesh are suffering from third wave. Many states of India, like Kerala are already going through the third wave. Think Globally, Nationally and Locally. Every area and state needs to have its own plan of action but keep a check on what is happening in other nations and learn from their experience. Nobody should feel secure depending on the number if cases in their states and the strategy should be locally relevant.

Is the healthcare infrastructure of India prepared to face the similar number of cases like the second wave?

Dr Rajesh Malhotra: I would agree that each hospital is better prepared because there are very competent healthcare professionals in our country. Every state is making position for ICU care, thrust on pediatric care and augmenting their healthcare infrastructure.

Herd immunity is being approached, which is why we may not have such a huge a surge. We were caught off guard during the second wave because after the first wave, serosurvey showed high seropositivity. Firstly, since we did not have vaccines at that time, the natural immunity weened off gradually. Secondly, the variant emerged causing huge distinction between the first and second waves.

On the contrary, now we have vaccines as a boost. The variant strain will be kept in mind. A lot of people who are vaccinated or immune due the previous infection can develop asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic re-infection and thus become spreaders. Hence, it is being insisted to follow the Covid protocols.

How important it is for children to get vaccinated?

Dr Rajesh Malhotra: We keep on saying that this virus will eventually become an endemic like HIV AIDS. It’s mortality will reduce. In the coming times, children will go for Covid vaccination like any other vaccine. About now, only children with serious comorbidity should be protected. It is now being said that Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox or measles and as you know children cannot comply with mask in schools or social distancing. They may therefore spread it rapidly among themselves and people as well, which is why we are encouraging vaccination among children. Although, the mortality is very low among them.

August 9, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

Explained: Beyond Delta, scientists are watching new coronavirus variants

by Medically Speaking Team August 9, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

The ongoing spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has resulted in the creation of a Greek alphabet of variants, which the World Health Organization uses to keep track of new mutations of the virus that causes COVID-19. Some have improved the virus’s ability to infect humans or evade vaccine protection.

Scientists are keeping an eye on Delta, which is currently the dominant version spreading rapidly over the world, but they’re also keeping an eye on other variants to see what might one day take its place.

DELTA

The Delta variant first detected in India remains the most worrisome. It is striking unvaccinated populations in many countries and has proven capable of infecting a higher proportion of vaccinated people than its predecessors.

The WHO classifies Delta as a variant of concern, meaning it has been shown capable of increasing transmissibility, causing more severe disease or reducing the benefit of vaccines and treatments.

According to Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, Delta’s “superpower” is its transmissibility. Chinese researchers found that people infected with Delta carry 1,260 times more virus in their noses compared with the original version of the coronavirus. Some U.S. research suggests that the “viral load” in vaccinated individuals who become infected with Delta is on par with those who are unvaccinated, but more research is needed.

While the original coronavirus took up to seven days to cause symptoms, Delta can cause symptoms two to three days faster, giving the immune system less time to respond and mount a defense. Delta also appears to be mutating further, with reports emerging of a “Delta Plus” variant, a sub-lineage that carries an additional mutation that has been shown to evade immune protection.

India listed Delta Plus as a variant of concern in June, but neither the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention nor the WHO have done so yet. According to Outbreak.info, an open-source COVID-19 database, Delta Plus has been detected in at least 32 countries. Experts say it is not yet clear whether it is more dangerous.

LAMBDA

The Lambda variant has attracted attention as a potential new threat. But this version of the coronavirus, first identified in Peru in December, may be receding, several infectious disease experts told Reuters.

The WHO classifies Lambda as a variant of interest, meaning it carries mutations suspected of causing a change in transmissibility or causing more severe disease, but it is still under investigation. Lab studies show it has mutations that resist vaccine-induced antibodies.

Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California, said the percentage of new Lambda cases reported to GISAID, a database that tracks SARS-CoV-2 variants, has been dropping, a sign that the variant is waning.

In a recent call with the CDC, disease experts said Lambda did not appear to be causing increased transmissibility, and vaccines appear to be holding up well against it, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who attended the discussion.

B.1.621

The B.1.621 variant, which first arose in Colombia in January, where it caused a major outbreak, has yet to earn a Greek letter name.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has listed it as a variant of interest, while Public Health England describes B.1.621 as a variant under investigation. It carries several key mutations, including E484K, N501Y and D614G, that have been linked with increased transmissibility and reduced immune protection. So far, there have been 37 likely and confirmed cases in the UK, according to a recent government report, and the variant has been identified in a number of patients in Florida.

MORE ON THE WAY?

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, recently warned that the United States could be in trouble unless more Americans get vaccinated, as a large pool of unvaccinated people give the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate into new variants.

Proponents of greater international distribution of vaccine doses by rich countries say the same thing could happen as variants emerge unchecked among the populations of poor nations where very few people have been inoculated.

Even so, a key issue is that the current vaccines block severe disease but do not prevent infection, said Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine scientist at the Mayo Clinic. That is because the virus is still capable of replicating in the nose, even among vaccinated people, who can then transmit the disease through tiny, aerosolized droplets.

To defeat SARS-CoV-2, he said, will likely require a new generation of vaccines that also block transmission. Until then, the world will remain vulnerable to the rise of new coronavirus variants, according to Poland and other experts.

August 9, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

COVID-19 Vaccines May Not Stop Delta Spread, UK Warns Early Signs

by Medically Speaking Team August 7, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

There are early signs that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 may be able to transmit the Delta variant of the virus as easily as those who have not, scientists at Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday.

The findings are consistent with those of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which expressed worries last week that vaccinated persons infected with Delta may easily spread it, unlike other forms.
The extremely contagious Delta variant has become the world’s most common coronavirus, sustaining a pandemic that has killed over 4.4 million people worldwide, including over 130,000 in the United Kingdom.

Vaccines have been shown to provide good protection against severe disease and death from Delta, especially with two doses, but there is less data on whether vaccinated people can still transmit it to others.

“Some initial findings indicate that levels of virus in those who become infected with Delta having already been vaccinated may be similar to levels found in unvaccinated people,” PHE said in a statement.

“This may have implications for people’s infectiousness, whether they have been vaccinated or not. However, this is early exploratory analysis and further targeted studies are needed to confirm whether this is the case.”

PHE said that of confirmed Delta cases that had ended up hospitalised since July 19, 55.1% were unvaccinated, while 34.9% had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Nearly 75% of the British population has had two vaccine doses, and PHE said that “as more of the population gets vaccinated, we will see a higher relative percentage of vaccinated people in hospital”.

Separately, PHE said another variant, known as B.1.621, first detected in Colombia, had shown signs of evading the immune response triggered by either COVID-19 vaccines or previous infection.

PHE has labelled the variant “under investigation” but has not declared it a “variant of concern” – a designation that can trigger strong policy responses.

“There is preliminary laboratory evidence to suggest that vaccination and previous infection may be less effective at preventing infection with (B.1.621),” it said, adding there had been 37 confirmed cases of the variant in England.

“However, this data is very limited and more research is required. There is no evidence to suggest that (it) is more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant.”

August 7, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

Sputnik V, AstraZeneca booster dose trial result expected this week: Report

by Medically Speaking Team August 5, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has recently issued a statement regarding the trials conducted about the booster dose of Sputnik V and Astrazeneca trials which has not shown any adverse effects. According to news agency ANI more trials are still underway and it is expected to announce more results this week.

The government has also given its view on mixing of two vaccines for Covid-19. Minister of state for health Bharati Pravin Pawar in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha said,”Covid-19 vaccines have been developed recently. Therefore, scientific evidence about mix and match studies of different vaccines is still evolving.”

Meanwhile, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories issued a statement on 2 August regarding the availability of ‘Made in India’ Sputnik V COVID-19 doses from September /October, the Sputnik V team confirmed it was scaling up its vaccine production capacity.

Sputnik V team said in a statement,”Sputnik V team confirms that owing to a major scale-up in vaccine production capacity temporary second component delivery delays that occurred due to this production scale-up will be fully resolved in August.”

“Sputnik V has built production partnership with producers in 14 countries and will additionally double its capacity in September thanks to our partnership with top producers including Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer,” reads the statement.

“Sputnik V will also continue to play a leading role in vaccine combinations (mix and match approach). Sputnik V, which pioneered the heterogeneous boosting (vaccine cocktail) approach by using two different adenoviral vectors (Ad5 and Ad26) for two different shots, was first to offer a joint mix and match trial to another producer when it made an offer to AstraZeneca on November 23, 2020. Joint Sputnik V and AstraZeneca trials have been ongoing in the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, and Argentina since February 2021. The early positive results were announced on July 30. More positive results on immunogenicity are expected this week,” it added.

August 5, 2021 0 comment

Uncategorized

WHO calls for halt on booster shots for Delta variant

by Medically Speaking Team August 5, 2021

written by Medically Speaking Team

The World Health Organization is asking for a COVID-19 vaccine booster embargo until at least the end of September, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization’s director-general.
According to WHO Director-General Tedros, the decision was made to ensure that at least 10% of the population of each nation got vaccinated.

As the disparity in immunisation rates in affluent and poor nations grows, the UN agency has issued its strongest demand yet to suspend COVID-19 vaccine boosters.

“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 added.

High-income countries administered around 50 doses for every 100 people in May, and that number had 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 supply.

“We need an urgent reversal, from the majority of vaccines going to high-income countries, to the majority going to low-income countries,” said Tedros.

Some countries have begun to use or started weighing on the need for booster doses.

August 5, 2021 0 comment

Newer Posts

Older Posts