GENEVA: The WHO on Friday urged countries to stop making bilateral deals for Covid-19 vaccines and, if they have signed contracts for more than they need, to release them to the globally-shared Covax programme.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked countries that have booked excess vaccine doses to "donate and release them to Covax immediately", adding: "Stop making bilateral deals at the expense of Covax."