Rich countries have received the vast majority of the world’s supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses, while poor countries have received less than 1%, the World Health Organization said in a conference on Friday. of press.
Of the 700 million vaccine doses distributed worldwide, “more than 87% have gone to high-income or middle- and high-income countries, while low-income countries have only received 0.2%,” he said. say WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
On average, 1 in 4 people in high-income countries has received a coronavirus vaccine, compared with only 1 in more than 500 in low-income countries, according to Tedros.
“There is still a shocking imbalance in global vaccine distribution.”
Tedros said there is a shortage of doses for COVAX, a global alliance that aims to provide poor countries with coronavirus vaccines.
“We understand that some countries and companies are planning to make their own bilateral vaccine donations, skipping COVAX for their own political or trade reasons,” Tedros said. “These bilateral agreements run the risk of venting the flames of vaccine inequity.”
Tedros said COVAX partners, including the WHO, the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, are pursuing strategies to accelerate production and supply.
The alliance seeks donations from countries with an oversupply of vaccines, expedites the review of more vaccines, and discusses ways to expand global manufacturing capacity with several countries, Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Tedros and Gavi.