Some countries aim to vaccinate millions of people every day. So far, most have fallen short
ON JANUARY 3, India’s medical regulator approved the state of emergency of two vaccine-19 vaccines, which gave the green light to the survey developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, as well as a homemade offering called “Covaxin” of Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad. But there was a catch: according to Adar Poonawalla, head of the Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine producer in the world, the approval of the Astrazeneca-Oxford vaccine depended on the company not sending doses abroad for several months. would not export to prioritize vulnerable Indians, of whom 300 million the country hopes to vaccinate by July. Serum has already promised 200 million doses to COVAX, a scheme to distribute kovid-19 vaccines to poor countries.
Indian officials have since denied that such a ban exists, claiming that exports to South Asian countries will begin within weeks of the vaccine being rolled out this month. But the saga illustrates the desire of governments to vaccinate their own citizens quickly, and their concerns that there will not be enough vaccine to go around. Some are more ambitious in their vaccination plans than others (see graph). Britain – which is currently in a third national exclusion amid record numbers of coronavirus infections – wants to provide at least one dose of vaccine to residents and care home staff, frontline health workers, people over 70 and those by mid-February. considered “extremely vulnerable” to covid-19. That’s 13.4 million people, or just under 2 million doses per week (by January 5, Britain had administered 1.3 million doses, starting on December 8). America wants to immunize 100 million by the end of the first quarter of 2021 and another 100 meters by the middle of the year. China plans to vaccinate 50 million front-line workers next month before the lunar new year, the country’s busiest time to travel. Both Germany and France want to vaccinate 12% of their population, representing 10 and 8 million people respectively.
Although there is no centralized database administering the number of covid-19 vaccines around the world, Our World in Data, an online publication at the University of Oxford, keeps track of the progress of vaccination campaigns based on government announcements. These figures suggest that Israel currently reaches by far the largest part of its population, as it has administered 1.37 million shots or 15.83 doses per 100 people since December 20. (Israel’s success is aided by its relatively small population and land size, as well as the unique structure of its health system.) The United Arab Emirates comes second with 8.35 doses per 100 people, followed by Bahrain (3.75), America ( 1.46) and Britain (1.39 from 27 December).
Most countries in the European Union, where the roll-out of vaccines has moved very slowly and is widely criticized, are lagging behind. Because many vaccines require two doses, the number of people fully vaccinated against covid-19 can be much lower than reflected in these numbers, although Britain has begun postponing second shots to reach a larger number of people. , and Europe is considering following it. . Poorer countries face even greater challenges than rich ones, and it is estimated that many people will not administer enough doses to make a difference by 2022. In the struggle to vaccinate, the question of who is ahead and who is behind is becoming more and more urgent.