A coalition of health experts in the United States has written an open letter to the Group of Seven leaders (G7) to commit at least 2 billion vaccine doses to low-and middle-income countries by the end of the year.
The G7 gather in the United Kingdom for their annual summit at the end of the week.
The group has also asked the G7 to more urgently help countries distribute and deliver vaccines quickly and equitably across their populations striving to achieve 60% vaccine coverage in every country by 2022.
The group of experts which include the Centre for Global Development, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and various health units of Duke University among others have urged the G7 leaders and member states to use their vaccine expertise and manufacturing capacity to accelerate global access to vaccines while meeting domestic demand.
The open letter points to the current unavailability of vaccines in poorer nations as a supply problem and also a massive distribution and delivery challenges.
They point out that the G7 has unique resources and capabilities and that the coming months will be a critical period to address catastrophic outbreaks in many countries.
They’ve called for the establishment of a G7 Vaccine Emergency Task Force to address the shortage.
Representatives from the world’s leading democratic nations prepare for the G7 Summit:
