COVID-19 Vaccine: Rich and Poor Countries Show Unequal Access

As the world witnessed the beginning of the use of coronavirus vaccines created in developed nations, almost 90 percent of the population in dozens of developing countries will have to wait through 2021 to get an effective vaccine, as rich nations are hoarding supplies of the new vaccines, a new report has detailed.

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The People’s Vaccine Alliance says that rich countries have hoarded enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations nearly three times over. The alliance, which includes Amnesty International and Oxfam, has warned that these purchases leave at least 67 developing countries with only enough to vaccinate the tenth percent of its population unless governments and the pharmaceutical industry take urgent action.  

In only five of the 67 countries– Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Ukraine – coronavirus cases reach a total of 1.5 million people among them.

In contrast, by last month, rich nations and economies encompassing only 14 percent of the global population had acquired 53 percent of the most-promising vaccines' total stock. These include the European Union, the United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, Israel, and Kuwait.

“The hoarding of vaccines actively undermines global efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere can be protected from COVID-19,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice. “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,” Cockburn added.

According to Oxfam, Canada has bought enough doses to vaccinate its population five times over. South Korea, another leading world economy, has bought sufficient vaccine for 88 percent of its population of more than 50 million people. Meanwhile, the Philippines, considered a developing country, has 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.

“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,” Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s health policy chief, said. “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.”

Among the three vaccines for which efficacy results have been announced, almost all the available doses of two of them – Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech – have already been acquired by rich countries, the Alliance noted. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is discussing emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this month.

Dr. Mohga Kamal Yanni, from The People’s Vaccine Alliance, was critical of the current system where pharmaceutical companies are granted access to public funding for research but then retain exclusive rights to the technology developed. While that boosts profits for the companies, the system “could cost many lives,” he warned.

Several international organizations have urged pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna, to scale up the production of the vaccine doses.

“What we really want to see is a rapid expansion of the overall global supply, so there are more vaccines to go around, and doses can be allocated according to WHO’s (World Health Organization) public health criteria, not a country’s ability to pay.”