The WHO chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said that “the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure” regarding the distribution of the new COVID-19 vaccines. He emphasises the fact that the people who will suffer the most are citizens of low-income countries.
Researchers at Duke University have estimated that there will not be enough vaccines to cover the world's population until at least 2023. This, therefore creates an issue of distribution, begging the question of who should be prioritised.
The UN initiative “Covax'' was established in an attempt to ensure equitable vaccine sharing. The aim was to deliver two billion doses by the end of 2021, with 1.8 billion of those going to the poorest 92 countries involved in the scheme. However, some richer countries have been able to afford bypassing the Covax scheme and making direct deals with suppliers. As a result, a group of rich countries containing just 16% of the world's population have purchased 60% of the global vaccine supply.
Headlines were made in mid-January when WHO released that whilst 39 million vaccines were administered in wealthy countries, a total of just 25 doses had been given in low income countries (the entirety of which were in Guinea and included the president).
Written by Josie
Artwork by Zara Masood
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