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 on Friday.
Of the 700 million doses of vaccine that were distributed worldwide, “over 87% went to high-income or higher- 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 to just 1 in over 500 in low-income countries, according to Tedros.
“There is still a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines,” he said.
Tedros said there is a shortage of doses for COVAX, a global alliance that aims to provide poor nations with coronavirus vaccines.
“We understand that some countries and companies intend to make their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing COVAX for their own political or commercial reasons,” Tedros said. “These bilateral arrangements risk exploding the flames of vaccine inequity.”
Tedros said COVAX partners – including WHO, the Coalition for Innovation in Epidemic Preparedness and Gavi, Vaccine Alliance – are pursuing strategies to accelerate production and supply.
The alliance is seeking donations from surplus vaccine countries, accelerating the review of more vaccines and discussing ways to expand global production capacity with more countries, said Tedros and Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley.