The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the Covid-19 pandemic is being perpetuated by a "scandalous inequity" in vaccine distribution, Reuters reports.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressing its annual ministerial assembly, urged countries to donate vaccine doses to the Covax mechanism to inoculate 10 per cent of populations of all countries by September, and 30pc by year-end.

Tedros also called on vaccine manufacturers to give Covax the first right of refusal on new volumes of vaccines, or to commit 50pc of their volumes to Covax this year.