A top World Health Organization (WHO) official said that the “inequitable” distribution of vaccines against COVID-19 was a “catastrophic moral failure” and a “failed opportunity”.

Speaking at a virtual press conference on Monday about the recent rise of cases in Europe, which was up by 12 per cent in the last week, Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, stressed that there was no “golden solution” to end the pandemic.