Low vaccination rates dangerous for all: IMF

Vaccinating the world is the most effective way to boost global output in the near term International Monetary Fund IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday warning that low vaccination rates in some countries is ldquodangerousrdquo for everyoneldquoIt is now increasingly clear to leaders everywhere and to ordinary people that we are not going to succeed in overcoming the economic crisis this pandemic triggered unless we bring the pandemic to a durable endrdquo Georgieva said at a press conference in response to a question from XinhuaThe IMF chief participated in the joint press conference together with the heads of the World Bank Group the World Health Organization WHO and the World Trade Organization WTO with a focus on a new joint call on scaling up equitable access to Covid19 vaccinesGeorgieva noted that countries with more fiscal space and rapid vaccinations are coming out of the crisis faster but those especially with low vaccination rates are falling further behind and ldquothat is dangerous for everyone because it would hold the global recovery backrdquo According to IMF estimation a faster vaccination rollout could inject the equivalent of 9 trillion into the global economy by 2025 due to a faster resumption of economic activityldquoAnd it is important to recognise that 60 per cent of the benefits this 60 per cent of this 9 trillion would go to emerging markets in developing countries but 40 per cent will go to advanced economiesrdquo said the IMF chief ldquoSo we mobilise everybody to step forward for the benefit of allrdquo she addedGeorgieva also noted that building on the work of the WHO WTO World Bank and many others IMF staff have put forward a proposal mdash a 50 billiondollar plan mdash to end the pandemicCanada allows mixing of Covid vaccinesCanadarsquos National Advisory Committee on Immunization NACI has announced its updated guidance to allow mixing and matching approved Covid19 vaccines in most scenarios Under the updated guidance people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine may receive PfizerBioNTech or Moderna for their second dose unless contraindicated Four vaccines developed by Pfizer Moderna AstraZeneca and Johnson amp Johnson have been authorised for use in Canada to date Xinhua reported The new guidance also advises that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be mixed for first and second doses But it is not recommending AstraZeneca after a first shot of Pfizer or ModernaPak sees less than 2k cases for 2nd dayWith 1843 new infections Pakistan on Wednesday reported less than 2000 Coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day pushing the national tally to 924667 The positivity ratio across the country stands at 39 per cent Pakistan has now reported a positivity ratio below 5 per cent for the ninth consecutive dayCovid certificate goes live in seven EU member statesThe European Unionrsquos EU new Digital Covid Certificate reached an important milestone on Tuesday when it was launched in the blocrsquos seven member states one month ahead of the schemersquos scheduled start on July 1 It went live in Bulgaria the Czech Republic Denmark Germany Greece Croatia and PolandLockdown in Melbourne extendedHealth authorities in the Australian state of Victoria extended a lockdown in the capital of Melbourne as the latest outbreak of Covid19 active cases rose to 60 by Wednesday The weeklong lockdown which was due to end on Thursday will continue for at least another seven days in Melbourne with restrictions being eased in regional Victoria the Xinhua news agency reportedAlso Read Amid scarcity no Covid19 vaccination drive today in Mumbai BMC371489No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours171273305Total no of cases worldwide3567234Total no of deaths worldwideThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever