Former UK prime minister Tony Blair said rumours and misinformation on the internet were leading to increasing vaccine hesitancy in poorer nations.
He said reluctance in Africa was compounding problems as some countries were turning away supplies of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines based on “rumours and stuff flying around on the internet”.
“You’ve got a crazy situation at the moment where you have African countries turning away the AstraZeneca vaccine on the basis it may have health problems,” Mr Blair told Sky News on Monday.
“The health problems from getting Covid are self-evidently greater than the problems you may get in a very, very limited number of cases, for example, blood clots.”
In February, South Africa sold supplies of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine to other African Union member states after a trial showed the shot offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness caused by the South African coronavirus variant.
Mr Blair did not identify which other African countries had declined to use AstraZeneca’s drug.
His comments came as Unicef said on Monday that G7 countries and the EU could donate 150 million Covid-19 vaccine doses while maintaining their own inoculation campaigns.
A study by British company Airfinity showed the countries could help close the world’s vaccine gap by sharing just 20 per cent of their June, July and August stocks with the Covax scheme for donated supplies.
"And they could do this while still fulfilling their vaccination commitments to their own populations," Unicef director Henrietta Fore said.
You've got a crazy situation at the moment where you have African countries turning away the AstraZeneca vaccine
The UK is due to host its fellow G7 member states Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US for a summit in June.
Unicef said that by then, the Covax programme, co-led by Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organisation, would find itself 190 million doses short of its planned supplies.
The shortfall is in part due to a devastating surge of the virus in India, which was due to manufacture and export the majority of Covax doses but is now using its supply domestically.
With additional shortages in supplies and funding, Unicef called for swift action until more sustainable production models are within reach.
"Sharing immediately available excess doses is a minimum, essential and emergency stopgap measure, and it is needed right now," it said.
Mr Blair said only 30 million doses had been delivered to Africa, a continent with a 1.2 billion population.
“The biggest problem we have now is that even if we do everything (in the UK) … the problem is that variants can come back into our own country and you see this with the India variant now,” he said.
“The important thing is at the same time we vaccinate our own people, what we do is set up a detailed plan for the international community to maximise production and distribute to all parts of the world.”
The US has 60 million AstraZeneca doses it could share, while France has pledged 500,000 doses and Sweden 1 million, with Switzerland considering a similar donation.
About 44 per cent of the 1.4 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered globally have been in high-income countries accounting for 16 per cent of the world’s population.
Only 0.3 per cent have been administered in the 29 lowest-income countries, home to nine per cent of the world's population, Unicef said.
The gap spurred World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to ask vaccine-wealthy nations to refrain from inoculating children and adolescents and instead donate doses to Covax.
Unicef reiterated the need to vaccinate poorer populations prevent more contagious and deadlier variants from wiping out progress towards immunity.
"We are concerned that the deadly spike in India is a precursor to what will happen if those warnings remain unheeded," it said.
"Cases are exploding and health systems are struggling in countries near – like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives – and far, like Argentina and Brazil."
The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid
Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)
Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)
Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)
Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Andor
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday
AC Milan v Sampdoria (2.30pm kick-off UAE)
Atalanta v Udinese (5pm)
Benevento v Parma (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (5pm)
Genoa v Fiorentina (5pm)
Lazio v Spezia (5pm)
Napoli v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Roma (5pm)
Torino v Juventus (8pm)
Bologna v Inter Milan (10.45pm)
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
Company%20Profile
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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
