Prince Harry has blamed 'those who peddle in lies and fear' in the news and social media for vaccine hesitancy during a surprise virtual appearance at the GQ Awards.
The Duke of Sussex, 36, delivered a chiding speech urging governments to do more to vaccinate poorer countries, warning 'until every community can access the vaccine and until every community is connected to trustworthy information about the vaccine, then we are all at risk'.
Speaking from his Montecito mansion more than 5,00 miles away, the beleaguered Prince lectured his star-studded London audience on 'media misinformation' and the importance of sharing vaccines.
Harry later presented the Heroes of the Year Award to Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor Catherine Green and the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at Wednesday evening's GQ Awards in London.
In attendance was Piers Morgan, who yesterday won a resounding victory for free speech after regulator Ofcom ruled he had not broken the broadcasting code for his comments on the Duchess of Sussex following her bombshell Oprah interview.
Mr Morgan's ITV colleagues and a string of respected broadcasters today hailed Ofcom's ruling confirming his right to free speech after the watchdog dismissed 57,000 complaints about his criticism of Meghan Markle.
Senior British journalists have declared that the judgment meant a 'pillar of our freedom' in the UK had been 'reinforced'.
The Duke of Sussex, speaking at a surprise virtual appearance at the GQ Awards at the Tate Modern in London, delivered a lecturing speech urging governments to do more to vaccinate poorer countries
Prince Harry blamed 'those who peddle lies and fear' in the news and on social media for vaccine hesitancy
Prince Harry was speaking before presenting a prize of Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor Catherine Green and the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at Wednesday evening's GQ Awards in London
His comments come hours after Piers Morgan, who was in the audience at the GQ awards in London, won a resounding victory for free speech
Prince Harry said: 'As people sit in the room with you tonight, more than a third of the global population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
'That's more than five billion shots given around the world so far.
'It sounds like a major accomplishment and in many ways it is, but there is a huge disparity between who can and cannot access the vaccine.
'Less than 2% of people in the developing world have received a single dose at this point. And many of the healthcare workers are still not vaccinated.
'We cannot move forward together unless we address this imbalance as one. At the same time, families around the world are being overwhelmed by masses of misinformation across news media and social media, where those who peddle in lies and fear are creating vaccine hesitancy, which in turn leads to divided communities and eroding trust.
'This is a system we need to break if we are to overcome Covid-19 and the risk of new variants.'
Harry hailed the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, who received the heroes of the year award, as 'heroes of the highest order' who 'have done their part'.
