World should advance vaccination amid pandemic: report

The world should prioritize vaccination and the establishment of mutual health data recognition arrangements, according to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Sunday.

The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered not only the vulnerabilities in the global public health system but also an enormous global governance deficit, the BFA Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report 2021 said.

Since March, although many countries have accelerated their vaccination efforts, the woefully inadequate vaccine supply accentuates the inequality in distribution, the report said.

To make vaccines a real public good available across the world, the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) initiative co-led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and the WHO should facilitate the distribution of vaccines to poorer economies, it said.

Countries should boost cooperation in pandemic control and provide prompt assistance to countries and regions that are less able to fight the pandemic, the report said.

The BFA annual conference runs from April 18 to 21 in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan.