The pandemic can only be declared defeated when the whole planet has benefited from the vaccine against Covid-19.
A symbolic step has been taken: the international mechanism Covax, intended to promote access to vaccines in poor countries, reached a milestone on Saturday with "a first billion" of doses distributed, rejoiced one of the supporters.
"This is a key step in the largest and fastest vaccine delivery in history," said Seth Berkley, epidemiologist and executive director of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
This alliance created Covax in 2020 with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Cepi coalition.
#COVAX has delivered its first billionth dose of #COVID19 vaccines to 144 countries & territories across the world.
It's a key milestone in the largest and most rapid global vaccine rollout in history but the world stands at yet another crossroads in our fight against COVID-19.
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— Seth Berkley (@GaviSeth) January 15, 2022
All countries can order doses through the Covax mechanism, but low-income countries receive them for free.
The first dose was delivered in February 2021 to Ghana, on Saturday a plane landed in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
To date, 144 countries have benefited from it.
The initial objective was to deliver two billion doses by the end of 2021. Deliveries to the poorest nations have long been very constrained by the lack of vaccines, captured by the richest states which had guaranteed their supplies with billions.
Then complicated by the fact that donor countries chose the recipient of their solidarity, a part of “vaccine diplomacy” which added to the logistical complexity.
Supplies only really ramped up during the last quarter.
“I am proud but humbled at the same time, knowing what remains to be done to protect everyone and solve the inequality in vaccination coverage.
Our work is far from done,” added Seth Berkley.
More than 85% of Africans have not received a single dose
On Thursday, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out that while 9.4 billion doses have been injected worldwide, more than 85% of Africans have not received a single one. However, according to public health experts, the possibility for the virus to circulate unchecked in certain areas increases the risk of the emergence of new, more contagious variants. This is why the WHO tried unsuccessfully to convince rich countries to reduce recall campaigns for people at high risk. “Indiscriminate booster programs have every chance of prolonging the pandemic, rather than ending it, by diverting available doses to countries that already have high vaccination rates, thus giving the virus more opportunities to spread. spread and mutate,”Ghebreyesus had thus pleaded less than a month ago.
"We can't let Omicron and the growing demand for booster doses demolish the progress we've made," said Seth Berkley.
If the world units to ensure adults in lower-income countries are immunized at levels achieved in high-income countries, between 940,000 and 1.27 million
deaths could be prevented in the next year.
We can - we must - must work together to #breakCOVID now.
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— Seth Berkley (@GaviSeth) January 15, 2022
"If the world unites to allow adults in low-income countries to be protected to the same level as in high-income countries, between 940,000 and 1.27 million deaths could be spared next year", he calculated.
And to conclude: “We must work together”.
