Leaders must work to end polarisation of access to COVID vaccines – President Ali tells UNGA

…says movement of people must not be restricted by vaccines they took

Access to COVID-19 vaccines has propelled countries one step further towards ending the pandemic, but it has resulted in the polarisation of the world through the domino effect of restricted movement and other divides.

In his address to the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Irfaan Ali has called for leaders to work together to ensure that people are not penalised or disadvantaged by the type of vaccine they were administered.
He noted that countries should look at other grave challenges and concerns, such as vaccine hesitancy and achieving a state of herd immunity within their populace.
“The access to vaccines saw the world polarised. I know I speak on behalf of many leaders when I say that we must not now hurt our efforts at ending this polarisation of access to vaccines by implementing measures that divide us and curtail our movement based on the type of vaccines our people took. Indeed, our efforts must be focused on full vaccination and addressing vaccine hesitancy. Millions took the vaccines which were available at a time of much uncertainty, and they are the unsung heroes. They must not now be the subject of restrictions based on the vaccines they took,” Ali told the Assembly.
The Guyanese Head of State declared himself pleased that heads of the international organisations and CEOs of the major pharmaceutical companies have formed a technical working group to exchange and coordinate information on vaccine production and delivery.
He acknowledged actions from the global agencies geared at access to low- and middle-income countries – a setback for many months as First World countries secure jabs while others in the lower bracket grappled with disadvantages.
“These are positive developments, which are welcome even though they have come after millions have died and many more millions still live under the threat of death… Similarly, we welcome the fact that, earlier this month, the Heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization met with the CEOs of leading vaccine manufacturing companies to discuss strategies to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines in low and lower middle-income countries and in Africa,” he said.
The Guyana Government also welcomed the summit on COVID-19 that was hosted by US President Joe Biden, and is pleased that it resulted not only in commitments for joint global action, but also in the allocation of resources to achieve necessary and agreed objectives.
Countries around the world have taken a stance to introduce COVID-19 vaccine requirements in order for foreigners to gain entry, but some have moved one step further to specify which vaccines are accepted.
A few weeks ago, a decision was also taken at the level of the Caricom Heads of Government meeting: that persons within the region are allowed to travel freely, regardless of which vaccine they have been administered. Only Trinidad and Tobago had opposed this position.
At that time, President Ali had expressed worry that some people were still not vaccinated. He was quoted as saying, “For me, nothing can be excellent if one life is lost. That is why I’m so impatient when it comes to the vaccination programme, because I am aware of the impact of COVID on the economy and country if people are not vaccinated. That is what worries me. In the context of what is happening around us and the development of this virus and the modelling of the virus…we have done the best we could under the circumstances.”
Guyana is currently utilising the Sinopharm, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson jabs.