UN secretary general says COVID-19 vaccine distribution has been 'wildly uneven and unfair'

In the world's fight against the coronavirus, just 10 countries have administered 75 percent of all vaccines, with 130 countries yet to receive a single dose.

"At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community," UN Secretary General António Guterres said during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday. The distribution of vaccines has been "wildly uneven and unfair," Guterres declared, and the Group of 20 must come together to form a global vaccine task force to address the issue.

The task force would coordinate the implementation and financing of a vaccine plan, with members mobilizing "the pharmaceutical companies and key industry and logistics actors," Guterres said. The Group of Seven — the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada — will meet on Friday, and he called on them to "create the momentum to mobilize the necessary financial resources."

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There are also concerns about getting the vaccine to conflict zones like Yemen, Syria, and South Sudan. Britain has estimated that if the vaccines can't get to these hot spots, more than 160 million people could be excluded from vaccination efforts, The Guardian reports.