Rome: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the United Kingdom (UK) shall donate 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to developing countries. Johnson made this announcement when he arrived Rome for G20 Summit that began today. The efforts are made to share vaccine with countries that sorely lack them.
According to Britain’s commitment, UK shall share 100 million doses with the needier nations by mid-2022. Out of this, 10 million doses have already been sent to the United Nations-backed COVAX vaccine-sharing program. Further, 10 million more doses shall follow in the coming weeks.
Britain and other wealthier nations have been accused on several occasions for hoarding more vaccines than they require. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is also a World Health Organization’s health envoy has urged G20 nations to speed things up and airlift unused doses to the developing nations of the world.
Earlier on Friday, the health and finance ministers from the world’s 20 biggest economies said that they would take steps to ensure that 70 per cent of the world’s population is vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid 2022.