G7 and the “decision of a century”
This Friday, the UK will host the G7 Summit in Cornwall. Vaccination against COVID will be the top issue on the agenda.
The G7 consists of the UK, France, Japan, Italy, Canada, Germany and the US. These countries will sit to discuss key issues this weekend, and in the middle of the COVID crisis, vaccination and how it is being carried out is sure to be the priority for all leaders.
40 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine in the UK, which is 75% of the adult population. 28 million people have so far received their second dose. The government aims for all adults to have had one dose of the vaccine by the end of July.
So what's the big deal if we're doing great? This isn't the case for many countries, particularly developing countries. They are running out of vaccination doses and are struggling to afford more.
Key figures are calling on the G7 as the most powerful countries to donate millions of doses to developing countries to aid their COVID recovery. Exporting these vaccines will allow the world to move closer to a COVID free society. Celebrities like David Beckham, Billie Eilish and Priyanka Chopra Jonas have signed a Unicef letter, asking the G7 to donate the vaccines or risk wasting them. There is already an existing inequality between first world and third world countries, but the availability of the vaccine threatens to increase the berth. While we have vaccinated most of our adults, some countries are still waiting for their first shipment of vaccines to arrive.
The UK and other countries are being asked to donate at least 20% of their vaccines by August. Develping countries need a steady supply of vaccinations to protect their citizens. The UK has said that it will donate excess vaccines but the Health Secretary stated that currently there are none.
The UK and Canada are yet to set a figure for how many doses they will donate, with the US, Italy, Japan and France already committing to numbers.
We need to share our success with the international stage, because it isn't just the UK that needs to be COVID free. The Prime Minister is expected to talk to the G7 about a 2022 target; vaccinating the entire world. This can only be possible if the rich countries support developing countries, by providing vaccines and support to prevent millions of death. The only way out of this is to work together.
So, it's down to the leaders of the world's most powerful countries to make the right decisions, ones that will enable our society to move forward during COVID. Let's hope the G7 will commit to donating vaccines to help save many lives. We're in a position of privilege as a rich country, so let's use that to
*I do not own the rights to the photo in the caption, all rights reserved.
*All statistics were correct at the time of publication. For more recent information, please check see the following links:
- What is the G7 and why is it in Cornwall?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-49434667
- How many UK adults have been vaccinated?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55274833
- Unicef asks G7 to donate vaccines:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57394279
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