Half the population of poor countries has now received two doses of vaccine against Covid-19, the international alliance Gavi announced Thursday, August 18, welcoming the progress made in overcoming inequalities in access to vaccination.
In the 92 low-income countries that have received donor-funded vaccines, vaccine coverage has averaged 50%, said the Gavi alliance, which co-leads with the World Health Organization (WHO) and d other institutions the international Covax system which aims to ensure equitable availability in the world of vaccines and treatments against Covid-19.
31% of residents received two first doses
The Gavi alliance and the WHO have long lamented the lack of solidarity regarding access to vaccination against Covid-19.
Although inequalities remain, "
low-income countries have made remarkable progress
", reaching a "
decisive threshold in the coverage
" of vaccination against Covid-19, the Gavi alliance said in a press release.
Dramatic progress has been made since the start of 2022, with only 31% of people in these 92 countries having received their first two doses.
Previously, vaccination coverage in 34 of these countries was less than 10%, which is now the case in only ten countries, said Gavi.
The alliance particularly praised governments for prioritizing the vaccination of high-risk healthcare workers, with more than 80% of healthcare workers having been vaccinated in most low-income countries.
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Derrick Sim, the acting managing director of Covax's office within Gavi, hailed "
vital progress
".
But “
the pandemic is not overcome
,” he warned.
"
Cases and deaths continue to rise and new variants pose a threat to us all
."
Since the first Covid-19 vaccines became available, Covax has delivered more than 1.4 billion doses to low-income countries worldwide.
“
Vaccination inequality is the greatest moral failure of our time and people and countries are paying the price
,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lamented this year.
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