The Prime Minister is today set to announce that the UK will donate the majority of its future surplus in vaccine doses to poorer countries around the world.
Boris Johnson is expected to make the pledge as he presides over his first virtual speech at a meeting of the G7 leaders later today.
The G7 is made up of the US, Japan, Canada, Germany, France and Italy along with the UK.
With orders placed for over 400 million doses of the various vaccines, there will be so many doses left once the UK population has been fully vaccinated, and even if everyone does require a third booster shot in the Autumn.
Anti-poverty campaigners say the UK is not doing enough.
Max Lawson, Oxfam’s Head of Inequality Policy said: “While the UK government’s pledge to donate any future surplus COVID-19 vaccines to COVAX is welcome, it is unlikely that the majority of people in many of the world’s poorest countries will get a vaccine this year.
“If the UK and other G7 countries want to avoid charges of vaccine hypocrisy, they must act quicker to ensure poorer countries get vaccines and stop defending Pharmaceutical corporations’ profits.”
