This is not only because developed countries, such as those in Western Europe, have bought a large number of doses of AstraZeneca to stand themselves out of the pandemic, but consequently because so many of the developing countries have relied on this one vaccine to do the same.
The double blow is that a picture emerges that the AstraZeneca vaccine – which apparently caused a very rare, sometimes fatal condition of severe blood clotting with a low platelet count – could affect younger adults more than the elderly. Developing countries generally have significantly younger populations than their richer counterparts.
A link between the rare blood clot and J & J’s vaccination has not been officially confirmed, but US officials want to interrupt it and use alternative shots while working out if there is a link, and if so, how common it can be. Europe is waiting to see what an investigation finds.
Many developing countries have to wait longer than rich countries to receive these vaccines. In earlier stages of their development, mRNA vaccines had to be kept at such cold temperatures. Most developing countries could not use it without purchasing new, expensive equipment to store it. These requirements are improving – the Pfizer vaccine can now be stored at normal freezer temperatures when transported – but the storage challenge meant months ago that most developing countries focused on shots like AstraZeneca and J&J when entering into purchase agreements with drug companies.
Dr Peter Drobac, director of the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford Said Business School, said that despite the rarity of blood clots in both AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines, any adverse effects could have the vaccine’s hesitation and even misdiagnosis. information worsens.
“It could fuel conspiracy theories around the world about a two-tier society. If affluent countries say they’re just going to have ‘gold standard’ with the most expensive vaccines and then AstraZeneca says it’s not good enough for us in the global north, but it “is good enough for the global south, it could reduce the uptake of the vaccine and hamper efforts to vaccinate the world,” he told CNN.
“For the Covid-19 vaccines, the benefits outweigh the possible side effects,” Benjamin Djoudalbaye, head of Policy, Health Diplomacy and Communications at Africa CDC, told CNN on Monday.
But the picture is more nuanced than that. The UK has data suggesting that the benefits generally outweigh the risks, but that this is not necessarily done for every age group in all circumstances.
Last week, the drug regulator recommended that people under the age of 30 be offered alternative vaccines, arguing that people in that age group are more likely to suffer serious harm as a result of the AstraZeneca vaccine than they are likely to avoid to become very seriously ill. This is only in a situation where the exposure to the virus is low. Any return to “normal” will increase exposure. Other European countries and Australia have restricted the use of the vaccine in older age groups.
To date, COVAX has delivered 17.4 million Covid-19 vaccines to 36 African countries, including more than 17 million AstraZeneca shots, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, and about 200,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine, according to figures released by CNN on Wednesday. officials were sent to CNN. .
The extent of the risk of these rare blood clot events after vaccination by AstraZeneca and possibly J&J vaccines is still unclear, but if it is confirmed that younger people are more likely to experience it, it means that the developing world and its younger population may be more vulnerable to blood clots, even if they are less vulnerable to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are steamrolling with their vaccination programs and sharing very few doses with other countries in need.
The US has shared a small number of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved there, with neighboring Mexico and Canada, but says it will not share wider until its own stock is safe. A report from Duke University on Thursday estimated that the US could have 300 million doses by the end of July.
A Nigerian doctor and public health consultant, Kingsley Douglas, said the ‘protectionist’ tendencies of the developed world were working towards a positive global outcome.
“Western countries first look at their citizens before going elsewhere. I do not regret that they are protectionist in their approach,” Douglas told CNN. “Nevertheless, it is in the interest of all that the critical mass of the world population be vaccinated and protected against Covid. Vaccines must be distributed uniformly and fairly.”
A top Chinese health official acknowledged over the weekend that China’s vaccines are not very effective and that Beijing is considering acquiring the new types of vaccines based on mRNA technology – such as the Pfizer and Moderna shots – an analysis what he did. was forced to water down after his comments were widely shared on social media and international news sites.
Samuel Matsikure, a resident of the Zimbabwean capital Harare, said he had heard many young people expressing skepticism about the Chinese vaccines.
“Many citizens are afraid of being vaccinated,” he told CNN. “They do not trust the vaccine from China – partly because they despise its effectiveness – and it is not as popular as other vaccines. So you find that the young and capable people are not vaccinated as much as older people,” said Matsikure said.
Matsikure hopes that Zimbabwe will obtain more vaccines so that some of the country’s strict coronavirus restrictions can be relaxed.
“Many Zimbabweans have suffered economically due to Covid closures. Most Zimbabweans are in the informal sector … they rely on selling their products on the street or designated outlets. But all of these things were closed during the closure. Many are currently unemployed. “cry for food support and can not pay their rent,” Matsikure told CNN.
Brazil, for example, has already received more than 1 million doses of AstraZeneca through COVAX, and as cases rise there, it does not appear to be moving towards limited use.
“The blood clots are worrying,” said Sergio Litewka of the University of Miami’s Ethics Programs, which focuses on Latin American research. “But I do not think the number of cases of blood clots justifies the suspension of the use of the vaccine.”
He said Latin American countries simply did not have enough other options to drop shots like AstraZeneca and J&J, and believed that vaccine hesitation in the region could rise as a result.
“Denmark has said no to AstraZeneca and there are other countries studying what they are going to do, and it is the same with Johnson & Johnson,” he said. “But in Latin America, people have very few options. Some say I would rather take the risk, but others are more hesitant.”
CNN’s Christopher Johnson contributed to this report.