The World Health Organization warned Tuesday there could be a shortfall of up to two billion syringes in 2022, which threatens to hamper vaccine efforts globally is production does not improve, according to Reuters.
More than 7.25 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, according to an AFP tally.
That's nearly double the number of routine vaccinations given per year -- and twice the number of syringes required.
National health authorities should plan their needs well in advance to avoid the "hoarding, panic buying and type of situation" seen early in the pandemic with the lack of personal protective equipment, WHO expert Lisa Hedman said.
Unicef also warned in October that it would fall short of 2.2 billion AD (auto-disable) syringes next year. The organization cited increased demand, supply-chain disruptions and ‘syringe nationalism’, which “could lead to significant challenges in 2022".
Unicef said there is a need to put an “end to ‘syringe nationalism’ and the hoarding of desperately needed safe injection equipment". Low- and middle-income nations will face the brunt of the shortage of syringes, it said.
Meanwhile, according to UN News, the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, WHO and the World Trade Organization (WTO) held a follow up session of High-Level Consultations with the CEOs of leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing companies on Tuesday.
At the meeting, according to a press release, all participants agreed on the urgency of delivering more vaccine doses to low-income countries, where less than 2.5 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
The meeting was organized with an objective to ensure equitable distribution of vaccine doses to low-income countries.