LONDON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Ensuring that spreading vaccines as widely as possible around the globe is "imperative" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic amid a surge of variants, a British expert said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Uma Kambhampati from the University of Reading in England said that the rapid spread of the Delta variant, which was first identified in India, not only in India, but in clusters around the globe including Britain, is a warning sign for any country who thinks they are safe if their own vaccination rollout is going to plan.

"Look at the Delta variant (in Britain)...it is absolutely the case given how easy it is to travel and how hard it is for us to prevent such travel," Kambhampati told Xinhua. "That if it (COVID-19) is there anywhere in the world, it is there everywhere."

In a joint communique issued after the summit wrapped up on Sunday, the Group of Seven (G7) leaders belatedly pledged to provide 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine to the less developed countries over the next year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 11 billion doses are needed to stand a chance of beating the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries like Britain, Canada and the United States have ordered enough doses of vaccines to immunize their entire populations multiple times over.

Kambhampati said she believes the current donation by the rich countries, along with giving production rights to certain countries, may not be enough.

She's been monitoring the situation closely in India, where she said that she believes investment and capacity are key factors in vaccine production.

"The Serum Institute of India was the one that was given the AstraZeneca production rights for the rest of the world. Of course, India is not able to provide the vaccines to the rest of the world," she said. "And I think that's where it comes right up against this issue of where actually investment is necessary."

Kambhampati said she believes the lack of investment and reluctance to expand vaccine production globally are where the world ends up with issues like the spread of the Delta variant, and this is something the WHO and countries of the G7 should take on board.

According to experts, a robust vaccine supply chain is key to speeding up the spread of the vaccine around the world and putting an end to the pandemic.

Kambhampati noted that people might be too focused on having a vaccine that worked rather than how it would be distributed.

"The step zero problem is to have a vaccine that works. But literally step one problem is to have a vaccine that works and is easy to produce, can be produced across the world, and easy to transport."

The WHO, in order to help the less developed countries gain access to vaccines, has previously suggested wealthy countries should postpone their plans to immunise children and donate them to the rest of the world.

But Kambhampati said she believes that the Delta variant has made that even more difficult.

"It's also been the case that in India, for instance, children have been very badly affected by the Delta variant. So it's sort of hard to expect countries to give up vaccines, when it's a matter of children being affected."

Instead, she is calling on governments across the world to try to work together on the logistics of the vaccine supply.

"I think what's happened is we are all arguing about vaccine patents and this and that, but we haven't sorted out the supply issues that underlie all vaccine supply chains. And I think that's really the crucial thing for us to get to," she said.

More than 41.8 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and more than 30.2 million have received their second dose across Britain, according to the latest official figures.

Experts have warned that coronavirus may continue to evolve for years to come, and eventually it is likely current vaccines will fail to protect against transmission, infection, or even against disease caused by newer variants.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)