WHO Urges Rich Countries to Donate More COVID Vaccine to Poorer Countries

The World Health Organization appealed to wealthy countries Friday to scrap plans to vaccinate young people with COVID-19 vaccine in favor of donating it to poorer countries.   

"I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to #COVAX," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual coronavirus meeting in Geneva.  France and Sweden started donating doses to COVAX after vaccinating their priority populations, unlike the U.S. and Canada, both of which started inoculating adolescents in recent weeks.    However, a WHO official said that negotiations are under way to get the U.S. to share doses to poorer countries to help ensure all countries are adequately protected.