Britain will arrange meeting to encourage global COVID vaccine take-up

Britain will arrange meeting to encourage global COVID vaccine take-up
May 15, 2021, 7:11 pm

Bottles of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Janssen COVID19 vaccine await transfer into syringes for administering at a vaccine rollout in Los Angeles, California on March 25, 2021. (AFP)

Britain said on May 15 it is planning to arrange a virtual meeting on June 2 to motivate global take-up of COVID-19 vaccines, bringing together medical experts, officials from G7 countries and other partners.

The event will talk about how to deal with misinformation about vaccines, including the role social media companies can perform in stopping the spread of damaging falsehoods.

Britain, which has one of the world’s fastest vaccination campaigns and an uptake of over 90% in older age groups, hopes to use its presidency of the Group of Seven nations to improve access to vaccines.

Rich countries are in general far ahead of most poorer nations in vaccinating their populations. The World Health Organization has repeatedly urged them to do more to help distribute vaccines worldwide, including boosting supplies to the COVAX scheme to provide vaccines to poorer nations.

Vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “This UK-hosted Summit is a significant opportunity for G7 countries to come together with partners around the world to take action to maintain high levels of trust in vaccines and those that provide them."

“We must work collectively to ensure people across the world can reclaim their lives and livelihoods.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a G7 summit in Cornwall on June 11-13. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to attend with other leaders.

In Britain, a first shot has been administered to almost 70% of the adult population and a second to 36%, helping to reduce infection rates and deaths.

Source: Reuters

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