Geneva, August 26 (RHC)-- The World Health Organization is calling on wealthy countries to impose a two-month moratorium on COVID-19 booster shots until poorer nations can inoculate their most vulnerable residents.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that global vaccine inequity was not only unfair, but could lead to new, more dangerous coronavirus variants spreading around the globe.
In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has fully authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. residents age 16 and over. The vaccine still has emergency use authorization for children aged 12 to 15. President Joe Biden said the FDA’s move should convince vaccine holdouts to get inoculated.
President Joe Biden: “If you’re one of the millions of Americans who said that they will not get the shot when it’s — until it has full and final approval of the FDA, it has now happened. The moment you’ve been waiting for is here. It’s time for you to go get your vaccination, and get it today.”
The FDA’s announcement set off a wave of vaccine mandates by corporations and government agencies. The Pentagon said all 1.3 million active-duty troops will be required to get vaccinated. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said all school employees — including principals, teachers and custodians — will be required to have at least one vaccine dose by September 27.