A new report by the People’s Vaccine Alliance has found that as many as 90 percent of the population in dozens of “poor countries” will miss out on the coronavirus vaccine next year because most of the supply has already been taken by rich nations.
The alliance which includes Amnesty International and Oxfam says that rich countries have hoarded enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations nearly three times over.
That leaves at least 67 poor countries with only enough to vaccinate one out of 10 people, unless governments and the pharmaceutical industry take urgent action, the alliance warned.
The report found that all doses of the Moderna vaccine have been bought by rich countries, as have 96% of Pfizer’s doses.
Just 14% of the world’s population has bought 53% of the most promising vaccines, with Canada singled out as having enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian five times.
South Korea, another leading world economy, has bought sufficient vaccine for 88 percent of its population of more than 50 million people.
Other rich countries include the European Union, United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, Israel and Kuwait.
Poorer countries, on the other hand, will only be able to vaccinate one in every 10 people next year, the alliance said.
Even a promise from developers of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to allocate 64% of doses to people in developing nations may not be enough.
Five of the countries most likely to be left behind – Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Ukraine – have reported 1.5 million coronavirus cases in total, the report said.
Philippines, considered a developing country, has so far secured only 2.6 million doses for delivery next year. That only covers 1.3 million people out of its total population of more than 100 million.
Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, said the “hoarding of vaccines actively undermines global efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere can be protected from COVID-19.
“Rich countries have clear human rights obligations not only to refrain from actions that could harm access to vaccines elsewhere but also to cooperate and provide assistance to countries that need it.”
It is projected that supply is likely to reach only 18% of the world’s population next year at the most.
The alliance says governments and the pharmaceutical industry must take urgent action to make sure there are enough vaccine doses for the world – not only for the countries who can pay for them.
Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s health policy manager, said, “No one should be blocked from getting a life-saving vaccine because of the country they live in or the amount of money in their pocket.
“But unless something changes dramatically, billions of people around the world will not receive a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 for years to come.”
Preet Kaur Gill, UK’s Labour shadow international development secretary, said the UK “taxpayers deserve to know that the money being spent on their behalf is guaranteed to bring about genuinely equitable access across the world to make us safer as soon as possible.”
