Amnesty International on Friday said that at least 17,000 health workers have died from COVID-19 over the last year.
The organisation called for urgent action to speed up the vaccination of millions of frontline health workers around the world.
The grave warning came as global inequalities in vaccine access continued to widen. More than half the world’s doses have so far been administered in just 10 rich countries, making up less than 10 per cent of the world’s population, while over 100 countries are yet to vaccinate a single person.