Rich countries received the vast majority of the world’s stock of Covid-19 vaccine doses, while poor countries achieved less than 1%, the World Health Organization said at a press conference on Friday.
Of the 700 million doses of vaccine distributed worldwide, ‘more than 87% went to high-income or high- and middle-income countries, while low-income countries received only 0.2%’, said WHO Director-General. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
On average, 1 in 4 people in high-income countries received a coronavirus vaccine, compared with just 1 in more than 500 in low-income countries, according to Tedros.
“There is a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines,” he said.
Tedros said there was a shortage of doses for COVAX, a global alliance aimed at providing poor vaccines with coronavirus vaccines.
“We understand that some countries and companies intend to make their own bilateral donations against vaccines, to circumvent COVAX for their own political or commercial reasons,” Tedros said. “These bilateral arrangements run the risk of igniting the flames of inequality in vaccines.”
Tedros said COVAX partners – including the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – are pursuing strategies to accelerate production and supply.
Tedros and dr. Tedros CEO Seth Berkley says the alliance wants to speed up donations from countries with surplus vaccine supply, and speed up more vaccines.