The head of the World Health Organisation called vaccine inequality "grotesque" as he urged producers of Covid-19 vaccines to follow AstraZeneca's lead and license technology to other makers.
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more drug makers to adopt this model to boost supplies, including for the Covax vaccine-sharing programme to quickly send more shots to developing countries.
"The gap between number of vaccines administered in rich countries and the number administered through Covax is growing and becoming more grotesque every day," Dr Tedros said.
"The inequitable distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage. It's also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating."
AstraZeneca's shot is being produced in various locations including South Korea's SK Bioscience and the Serum Institute of India.
Interim data showed the AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, was 79 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and posed no increased risk of blood clots.
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan called it a "very good vaccine for all age groups".
Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark have extended suspensions of AstraZeneca's vaccine as investigations continue into rare blood-clotting events.
But WHO officials said African countries receiving the vaccine through Covax are moving ahead.
"They did ask a lot of questions but the demand for the vaccine is extremely high," said WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward.
It remains possible for Covax to hit a second-quarter goal of delivering 300 million doses, Mr Aylward said.
But he acknowledged "teething problems", with SKBioSciences and the Serum Institute hard pressed to fill Covax orders.
"We simply cannot get enough vaccine," Mr Aylward said.
"We're hoping both companies will be able to scale up and keep up with the rate of deliveries we're aiming for."
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Background: Chemical Weapons
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
GCC-UK%20Growth
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