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World Health Organization Chief Blasts “Shocking Global Disparity” in Vaccine Access

HeadlineMay 11, 2021

In the Czech Republic, mourners lit nearly 30,000 candles Monday at Prague Castle to commemorate the number of victims who’ve fallen to COVID-19. The Czech Republic has the second-highest per capita death toll in the world from COVID, after Hungary.

Worldwide, cases have edged down from record highs set in April but remain at a dangerous, high plateau. Case rates are highest in countries with low vaccination rates. In Geneva, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Monday on wealthy nations to stop hoarding vaccine doses at the expense of poorer countries.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “The shocking global disparity in access to vaccines remains one of the biggest risks to ending the pandemic. High- and upper-income countries represent 53% of the world’s population but have received 83% of the world’s vaccines. By contrast, low- and lower-middle-income countries account for 47% of the world’s population but have received just 17% of the world’s vaccines.”

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