In view of recent restrictions and travel bans reinstated by some western countries, to check the spread of the newly discovered COVID-19 variant Omicron, Lagos based founder & CEO of ‘The Sunky O Lifestyle Company’, Ojulari Olasunkanmi aka ‘Sunky O’ has called on the World Health Organization and United Nations to urge the richer western nations to help donate and provide COVID-19 vaccines to the poorer nations around the world.
Sunky who made this plea in a phone chat with our reporter, said that vaccine inequality among poorer nations is not helping the world achieve herd immunity which will help decrease or eliminate rising new infections. “The recent flurry by western nations to reinstall travel bans beginning this week is only a short term solution to the problem” he added.
“The long term solution is not reimposing restrictions and/or travel bans, but ensuring that poorer countries get enough vaccines either through UN or W.H.O donations or via the COVAX initiative”, Sunky stated.
Ojulari further explained that travel bans or closing of borders will only bring further discrimination between peoples and countries. “Vaccine inequality is a real thing, some richer nations are already mandating booster shots for their citizens while a lot of the poor one haven’t even been able to give the first shots to their citizens” he said.
Olasunkanmi believes that as long as vaccine bias and inequalities exist, the world would not attain herd immunity any time soon. He pleaded with the W.H.O and UN to increase awareness campaigns to help fight hesitancy and eliminate conspiracy theories surrounding Covid vaccines. He also urged richer and more industrialized countries to donate their excess vaccines to other less fortunate nations.
Sunky lauded the efforts of the South African scientists who discovered the Omicron variant, saying that “contrary to what most people think, the variant is not a ‘South African variant’, but was only spotted & reported by brilliant South African scientists”. He said this discovery means the world now has
a chance to get on top of it and contain it fast.
He further added, “until 80 to 90% of the world population is vaccinated, we will not attain herd immunity status, and the virus will keep mutating, which means new and/or more resistant strains will keep being arising”
Ojulari Olasunkanmi better known as ‘Sunky O’ is a lifestyle connoisseur, social influencer, brand strategist, philanthropist, and Ciroc brand ambassador.
