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Rich countries are hoarding covid-19 vaccines

2020-12-09T22:24:05.774Z


According to an international organization, rich countries are sourcing much more COVID-19 vaccines than poor countries.


Covax: the program that seeks to ensure vaccines for the poorest countries 3:25

London (CNN) -

Rich countries have bought enough doses of COVID-19 vaccine, three times more, to immunize their populations, an international vaccine watchdog said.

Developing countries are lagging behind in the global race to end the coronavirus pandemic, the agency said.

In 67 poorer countries, only one in 10 people can expect to receive a vaccine by the end of 2021, the People's Vaccine Alliance said Wednesday.

But in the developed world, where the rush to secure vaccine supplies began in the first weeks and months of the pandemic, a surplus of doses was ordered.

Those countries represent only 14% of the world's population and possess more than half of the most promising vaccines.

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The group urged pharmaceutical companies to share their technology and intellectual property with the World Health Organization.

He also asked governments to commit to sending vaccines to the developing world, in order to close the economic disparity between nations seeking to emerge from the devastating COVID-19 crisis.

"No one should be prevented from receiving a life-saving vaccine because of the country you live in or the amount of money in your pocket," said Anna Marriott, manager of health policy at Oxfam, one of the charities that they are members of the People's Vaccine Alliance, along with Amnesty International, Global Justice Now and others.

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"But unless something drastically changes, billions of people around the world will not receive a safe and effective vaccine against covid-19 in the next few years," he added.

The supply of covid-19 vaccines around the world

On Tuesday, the UK became the first nation to begin vaccinating its citizens with a fully vetted and licensed COVID-19 vaccine.

That marks an important milestone in a pandemic that paralyzed the world.

But 96% of the doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines that Britain has started to administer have been bought by wealthy countries, the People's Vaccine Alliance said.

Similarly, each of the doses of Moderna, another prominent candidate whose trials have shown a high rate of efficacy, have been purchased by wealthy countries.

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In Canada, enough doses have been purchased to immunize citizens five times if all leading vaccines are approved, the group said.

These perspectives are in stark contrast to the situation in the developing world.

In particular, the group identified 67 countries most at risk of being excluded from the pandemic exit route.

Five of them (Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Ukraine) have reported more than 1.5 million cases combined.

"Vaccine hoarding actively undermines global efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere, can be protected against COVID-19," said Steve Cockburn, Director of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International.

"By buying the vast majority of the world's vaccine supply, rich countries are failing to meet their human rights obligations."

At least 172 countries have or are considering participating in Covax, an initiative led by the World Health Organization that aims to provide global access to effective covid-19 vaccines, according to the body.

But a study conducted last month by the Duke University Institute for Global Health found that only 250 million doses have been confirmed to have been purchased under the scheme.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will meet this Thursday to consider granting the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine in the United States.

If approved, the country could join the UK in dosing in the coming days.

Coronavirus Vaccine

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-12-09

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