This is Brian Lair's Daily Politics podcast from WNYC Studios.

It's Friday, August 27th.

I'm Bridget Bergen from the WNYC and Gothamus Newsroom, filling in for Brian.

The U.S. is making plans to offer booster shots of

COVID vaccine as early as six months after full vaccination starting mid-September. That's started in

some countries already, while Europe and North America have administered over 90 doses of

vaccine for every 100 people, that number drops to under seven for the African

continent. The Director General of the World Health Organization is called on countries to delay

boosters until at least the most vulnerable everywhere have had their shots. And earlier this month,

a group of public health experts and activists' organizations sent a letter to the Biden White House asking for more vaccines and resources for global distribution for the sake of Americans, as well as residents in poorer countries.

To find out more about why the global vaccination effort is in the interest of U.S. public health, we're joined by one of the signatories of the letter, Columbia University's Dr. Wafa

Al-Sauder, University professor of epidemiology in medicine and director of ICAP, a global health

center at the School of Public Health. Hi, Dr. El Soder. Welcome back to WNYC.

Thank you. My pleasure. So the WHO's

Africa Director did not mince words at a press conference last week. Here's a clip of that.

Moves by some countries globally to introduce booster shots, threaten the promise of a brighter

tomorrow for Africa.

As some richer countries hoard vaccines, they make a mockery, frankly, of vaccine equity.

A mockery of vaccine equity.

How do you see the global vaccine distribution picture?

I think that the global distribution picture is very alarming and distressing.

I think we all need to appreciate two very important facts.

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