look at the year that has passed and the year that is ahead. through the prism of one state s experiences. while there is still much pain here, and a long way to go. there is some good news. some light, at the end of the tunnel. one recent analysis ranking rhode island number ten in terms of vaccine distribution. and the state just increased the eligibility to those 60 and over, as well as people as young as 16, with an underlying condition. i saw that hope, myself, this weekend, as i visited a mass-vaccination site at the dunkin doughnut center, not far from where i am standing right now. where vulnerable residents were getting their first and second covid shot. take a listen. what was it like, after you got your first shot in your arm? what was that kind of emotion for you? oh, it was it was wonderful. but i tell you, today, it s really touching me today that we re so fortunate to have this vaccine after-only a year. it s a sense of freedom like, okay, now, i can i
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said in his statement on two years of COVID-19 that the vaccine distribution is "scandalously unequal" because rich-country health is prioritized over the poor.
hello. you have been you have been urging that the g20 take active measures to close the vaccine gap that you call immoral. 60% to 70% of the developed world is vaccinated. 3% to 5% of africa is vaccinated. and yet no great measures came out of the g20 on this front. why do you think they re not moving in this direction? as you point out, hundreds of millions of vaccines are actually expiring and will be used by no one. yep, we could lose 100 million vaccines just wasted passed the use-by date by the end of the year if we don t transfer the vaccines from the global north to the global south, who is desperately in need of them. what s happened at the g20 understood we need 40% vaccination in the poorest countries by december.
scotland. joining me now from scotland is gordon brown. when he was the british prime minister, he hosted a g20 that made great progress in healing the then-broken global economy. gordon, welcome. hello. you have been you have been urging that the g20 take active measures to close the vaccine gap that you call immoral. 60% to 70% of the developed world is vaccinated. 3% to 5% of africa is vaccinated. and yet no great measures came out of the g20 on this front. why do you think they re not moving in this direction? as you point out, hundreds of millions of vaccines are actually expiring and will be used by no one. yep, we could lose 100 million vaccines just wasted passed the use-by date by the
drug that was used to treat former president trump, former governor chris christie. that same drug has also been administered to governor abbott now for treatment of covid. so he clearly understands the risk. i think the message here is also vaccines are not perfect. i don t know the timing of that third dose. it may have been very recent. but vaccines are not going to prevent all infections, especially if you re exposing yourself to this degree, to indoor crowds without a mask. this speaks to the need to be layering interventions, masking, improved ventilation and air filtration, socializing outdoors when possible, in addition to getting vaccinated. the head of the world health organization this month called for a halt on booster shots, saying the vaccine gap between wealthy countries and poorer countries in this world of ours has widened. so is it an ethical choice for the u.s. to make about supplying