Gordon Brown says Covid mutations could ‘come back to haunt us’ if vaccines stockpiles are wasted

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned that “over ordered” vaccine stocks could be wasted.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme this morning that many countries had “overordered and overstocked” vaccines, but were not getting them out quickly enough, and could thus risk “wasting them before their expiry date”.

He said that there had already been 5million Covid-related deaths, and that the WHO was warning of the potential for another 5 million “unless we act”.

He said that if the disease continues to spread in poorer countries Covid mutations could “come back to haunt” developed and mostly vaccinated countries such as the UK.

Last week the ex-PM told Sky News that the possibility of vaccines going to “waste” was “criminal”, and that 240 million vaccines are “lying in Europe and America which are unused, not likely to be used” and could “immediately be airlifted out” to countries with low vaccination rates.