Covid-19 'far from over' and world needs vaccines fast, UAE minister tells UN

Sarah Al Amiri calls for faster action on inoculating people across the world's hotspots

At the UN Council meeting, Sarah Al Amiri called for a 'fair and equitable distribution of vaccines'. Photo: UAE Mission to the UN

Sarah Al Amiri, the UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology, on Monday said the coronavirus pandemic was “far from over” and called for faster action in getting vaccines to poor and war-torn countries.

Ms Al Amiri told the UN Security Council that only about a tenth of people in strife-ridden nations had received Covid-19 vaccines, and in some hotspots less than 1 per cent of the population had been inoculated.

“New waves, coupled with new variants, are evidence that no one is safe until everyone is safe,” she said at talks co-hosted by the UAE, Britain and France

Diplomats warned of coronavirus outbreaks and the lack of vaccine deliveries to such hotspots as Yemen and Ukraine, where a Russian invasion has forced millions of people to flee their homes.

“The pandemic’s lasting security legacy will likely be the worsening of the root causes of these challenges globally, and a solution is necessary to avoid far-reaching ripple effects from this pandemic,” Ms Al Amiri said.

Women and girls are “still bearing the brunt” of the pandemic and the “fair and equitable distribution of vaccines is both a strategic investment and a moral obligation”, she said in New York.

The UN’s World Health Organisation on Monday warned that 20 mostly African countries have still not vaccinated even 10 per cent of their population against Covid-19.

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  A boy receives a Covid-19 vaccination at a site near Johannesburg. The World Health Organisation's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti says the continent is moving into the ‘control phase’ of the pandemic. AP

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  Vaccinations are prepared at a health centre in Nairobi, Kenya. AP

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  With masks on, hairdresser Tembi Ndlovu tends to a client in a salon in Harare, Zimbabwe. AP

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  A health official takes a sample for tests at a private Covid-19 testing centre in Harare. AP

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  A child receives his Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against Covi-19 in Diepsloot township near Johannesburg. AP

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  Martin Lako prepares to vaccinate Timon Buga Kujo in Juba, South Sudan. Reuters

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  A man is tested for Covid-19 in Harare. AP Photo

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  Travellers wait for a coronavirus test at the Gatuna border post at Gicumbi, northern Rwanda. Reuters

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  A man is vaccinated at Wuse market in Abuja, Nigeria. Reuters

“These are countries that are working really hard to advance their programmes,” said Kate O’Brien, the WHO's vaccines chief.

“Supply is no longer the issue. The legacy of all the supply constraint from 2021 is still being felt."

The Covax scheme, created to ensure the world’s poorest 92 countries had access to Covid-19 shots, has so far shipped 1.42 billion vaccine doses to 145 territories, the UN said.

The scheme has enough supply available for all those countries to achieve the WHO's 70 per cent coverage target by June, the agency's experts said.

So far, the WHO has authorised eight Covid-19 vaccines and versions of them made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Janssen, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Bharat Biotech and Novavax.

Read more: Shanghai looks to ease Covid restrictions despite rising cases

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  Nearly empty roads amid a phased lockdown due to Covid-19 in Shanghai, China. The country's largest city reported more than 13,000 daily Covid cases for the first time, as a sweeping lockdown of its 25 million residents and mass testing uncovered extensive spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant. Bloomberg

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  Medical workers gather near a banner that reads 'Unite as one, resolutely win the battle against epidemic' during a departure ceremony before leaving for Shanghai, in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province. AP

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  China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to tackle the rapidly spreading Covid-19 outbreak. AFP

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  Workers in protective suits direct residents lining up for Covid testing. Reuters

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  Medical workers and volunteers in a compound where residents are being tested for Covid-19. AFP

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  Authorities are building the world’s largest makeshift isolation centre to help contain the outbreak in Shanghai. AFP

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  A delivery man arranges his orders during lockdown in the Jingan district of western Shanghai. AP

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  A worker in protective gear chats with residents outside shuttered shops in the Jingan district of western Shanghai. AP

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  The number of cases continues to rise in Shanghai and Jilin, a north-eastern province. AP

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  Residents wait to submit samples for tests at a community centre in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. AP

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  A person walks a dog. Reuters

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  Policemen wearing protective gear on a street during patrols. AFP

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  Workers remove their protective gear at the entrance of a neighbourhood. AFP

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  Food shortages and shuttered manufacturing plants have hit residents hard. AFP

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  Workers unload groceries from a truck before distributing them to residents. AP

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  A man helps a woman to consume a packet of traditional Chinese medicine, as she sits by the side of a road outside a residential compound. Reuters

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  Empty highways at night in Shanghai. Bloomberg