New vaccine-resistant COVID-19 mutations can emerge if the virus spreads in developing countries, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday, Report informs, citing RIA Novosti.
“I'm very worried about the present situation. Some countries vaccinate their populations very quickly. However, there are still countries that have not received a single dose. In developing countries, however, we see a serious gap in vaccination,” he said.
According to him, if the COVID spreads like wildfire in the southern hemisphere, it will have more variants and mutations, and there can emerge a new vaccine-resistant virus.
The UN Secretary-General called “vaccination nationalism” a big mistake: “We support the COVAX initiative, which aims to effectively distribute vaccines in developing countries. Unfortunately, COVAX is facing not only certain financial shortcomings ($ 22 billion). Today, there are supply problems due to export restrictions imposed by different countries.”