Vaccine Inequality: More To Rich, Very Less To Poor

WHO Director-General Tedros Addhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the world is currently experiencing a “shocking imbalance” in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines where many countries lack sufficient shots to cover health workers and others at high-risk.

He said that 700 million-plus vaccines have been administered global wide, but 87 per cent has been given to high income and upper-middle-income, or just say wealthier countries, while the low-income countries received just 0.2%. That means, in high-income countries, nearly one in four people has received a COVID-19 vaccine. But when we compare with the low-income countries, it’s one in more than 500.

Talking into details, the COVAX facility has delivered around 38.4 million doses to 102 countries across six continents, aiming to administer more than 2 billion doses in 2021. But it had faced delays. “We hope to be able to catch up during April and May. The problem is not getting vaccines out of COVAX, the problem is getting them in,” Tedros said.

There has been reports that recipients who took the AstraZeneca shot may face blood clot as a rare condition and the safety concern has hindered the COVAX programme so far. In effect to the safety reports, Australia said that they have ordered other alternatives for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Hong Kong also delayed deliveries of the shot amid concern about a possible very small risk of rare blood clots.