It is appalling that the world’s richest countries continue to accumulate vaccine doses while the world’s poorest struggle with entirely inadequate supplies.

The fact is that until Covid-19 is tackled as a global issue it will continue to threaten us all, including countries with high vaccination coverage - much like we’ve seen with the Omicron variant.

The government must now lead by example to help protect vulnerable populations globally as well as our own population from future variants.

Hoarding surplus vaccines when others have none will only backfire as new variants will inevitably develop in countries that have limited access to vaccines.

The total number of vaccines administered worldwide in the past year was more than sufficient to cover 40 per cent of the population in all countries, if it had been delivered equitably. Instead, only one in 107 people in low-income countries and just 25 per cent of healthcare workers in Africa have received a single dose.

In the UK, much like many other G7 and G20 countries, the government has secured vaccine stock that it is never realistically going to use or need.

This pandemic is incredibly fast moving and it’s important to acknowledge that no one will be safe, until everyone is safe. We must end inequity in order to end the pandemic.

Chaand Nagpaul, via email