G20 ministers call for equal COVID-19 vaccines access

Update G20 ministers call for equal COVID-19 vaccines access
A nurse prepares Russia's "Sputnik-V" vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a post-registration trials stage at a clinic in Moscow. (Reuters)
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Updated 17 September 2020
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G20 ministers call for equal COVID-19 vaccines access

G20 ministers call for equal COVID-19 vaccines access
  • Ministers vowed to 'continue to use all available policy tools to safeguard people's lives, jobs and incomes'

LONDON: Ensuring “equitable and affordable” access to vaccines for all was the key to overcoming the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and supporting global economic recovery, G20 finance and health ministers said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The statement said an action plan would be presented at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor’s meeting in October and at the leaders’ summit in November in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh.

The ministers vowed to “continue to use all available policy tools to safeguard people's lives, jobs and incomes.”

The ministers said they had taken note of the assessment of gaps in COVID-19 pandemic preparedness that the World Health Organization (WHO) undertook in cooperation with relevant international organizations, something requested by G20 leaders in March.