ONE of Oxford's MPs has called on international health ministers, visiting the city tomorrow, to share out the Covid vaccine fairly across the world.

Layla Moran, the Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, made the call in a letter to health ministers from the G7 countries, including Matt Hancock, who will meet tomorrow and Friday ahead of a full summit in Cornwall next week.

In her letter, Ms Moran, who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on coronavirus, said the Oxford meetings 'could mark a turning point in the global fight against coronavirus', urging them to 'seize this opportunity'.

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The MP urged the G7 to commit to a 'parallel rollout' of vaccines through the World Health Organisation's Covax programme.

This would see them providing jabs on top of the funding the rich nations have already started to give to the plan to vaccinate poorer countries.

She also called on the group to support an internationally recognised waiver of intellectual property on Covid vaccines, backed by the World Trade Organisation, and asked them to set up domestic enquiries to share 'important lessons learned' from the pandemic.

The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

These are the world's seven largest advanced economies.

Ms Moran said: “Unless we close the vaccination gap, no nation will be truly safe from coronavirus. The threat of new variants will remain a significant risk.

"That’s why every G7 nation should commit to beginning a parallel rollout by donating doses to COVAX. It’s time for intellectual property and technology sharing to receive the backing of these countries too - we need to take bold steps to fight coronavirus."

Her letter comes a month after the APPG on Covid heard from Professor Stephen Reicher, a behavioural psychologist and member of Independent SAGE.

He told the APPG in May that not allowing companies in other countries to manufacture the vaccines was 'a vast scandal because millions of people are going to die for lack of the vaccine'.

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Joe Biden's new administration in the USA supports a vaccine waiver, but 'technology transfer', or sharing the equipment needed to produce a vaccine, would also be required.

Following the health meetings, a summit of G7 world leaders from the group begins in Cornwall next weekend.