World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has advised countries to avoid giving coronavirus vaccines boosters until year-end.

He pointed toward the millions worldwide who are yet to obtain a single dose.

“I will not stay silent when the companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world’s poor should be satisfied with leftovers,” stated WHO chief.

Tedros has commended wealthy nations and vaccine makers to priorities getting the first jabs to health workers and defenseless populations in poorer nations over boosters.

“We do not want to see widespread use of boosters for healthy people who are fully vaccinated,” he said.

The WHO called last month for a suspension on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots until the end of September to address the radical injustice in dose delivery between rich and poor nations.

Tedros also acknowledged that there had “been little change in the global situations since then”.

“So today I am calling for an extension of the moratorium until at least the end of the year,” he said.

High-income nations had assured to contribute more than one billion vaccine doses to poorer countries, he said — “but less than 15% of those doses have materialized”.

“We don’t want any more promises,” he said. “We just want the vaccines.”