UK will only deliver half of promised vaccine donations

The UK will only deliver half of the promised coronavirus vaccine donations at the current rate of delivery.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised that by June 2022 the UK would donate 100 million coronavirus vaccines. So far only 20 million of these doses have been delivered by the UK.

At the current rate of delivery, the UK will break its pledge according to a cross-party group of MPs and peers.

The vaccine booster programme in the UK has been extended to people over 40 years old. People have been encouraged to get vaccinated ahead of Christmas to prevent restrictions from returning and ensure everyone has a great Christmas.

When Johnson announced that the UK would be donating 100 million vaccines to poorer countries he encouraged other countries to do the same. MPs have called on the government to double the rate of the current coronavirus vaccine donations.

Conservative MP Dan Poulter stated: “Donating vaccines overseas is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, as not only will it save lives and maintain Britain’s global reputation as a reliable partner, it will also protect our people, our economy and our NHS from future variants.”

He went on to add: “The government must increase vaccine donations as soon as possible. Any delay will only cost more lives.”

Dr David Nabarro is the co-director of global health at Imperial College London. He has warned that people need to be vaccinated across the globe to prevent new variants from emerging.

He commented: “The longer large numbers of people lack access to vaccines, the larger the number of people globally who will die. The chance that more dangerous variants will emerge – variants that are able to evade the protection offered by current vaccines – will increase.”

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