Booster Programme Extended To Include People Aged 40 n Over

According to report, about 64% of people who are upper middle income were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, and 66% of those in the high-income bracket and only 24% of those with a lower middle income have had two coronavirus jabs.

Among those with low incomes, just 4.6% have had either one or two COVID-19 jabs.A worldwide "mass hysteria" means people in some countries are "getting COVID vaccine boosters like they're taking Smarties", an expert has claimed.

Dr Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the African Union’s African Vaccine Delivery Alliance, was speaking to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on coronavirus on Tuesday in a debate about vaccine inequality.

“The fact is, the horse has bolted as far as the vaccines because of course the political decision has been made,” said Dr Alakija.

“There’s almost a mass hysteria now. Some people in some countries are getting boosters like they’re taking Smarties.

“I personally know people who have had about four vaccines in some countries because the mass hysteria is this is what is going to protect us.”

In England, it was announced on Monday that the booster programme will be extended to include people aged 40 and over.

Dr Alakija warned: “We are in an era of populism. We are in an era of nationalism. And global vaccine nationalism is what has taken over.

“The reason we are not vaccinating the world is not because we don’t understand that we should, come on, it’s not rocket science.”

Dr Alakija added: “What also seems to be innate in the world at the moment is selfishness and greed.

“There’s this intense selfishness that is going around the world leaders particularly and G7 nations, where there hasn’t been a global co-ordinated effort to ensure that we share vaccines in an equitable manner.”

David Nabarro, special envoy on COVID-19 for the World Health Organization (WHO), told the APPG: “The only challenge we have in this current situation of vaccine shortage, if there is a hoovering up of vaccines for the boosters, that is just going to have global consequences that are really quite extreme.”

Dr Nicaise Ndembi, chief science advisor at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the APPG: “I think we all know; no one is safe until everyone is.”

“It is time now to a have a global response to the pandemic rather than having very localised approaches.”