About 35% of the people who received at least one dose of the immunizer are from high-income countries
Leaders of developing countries alerted the UN General Assembly (United Nations) this week that the stockpiling of vaccines against Covid-19 by rich countries leaves the door open for the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus at a time when infections are already increasing in many places.
The Philippines warned of a “man-made [vaccine] drought” in poor countries, Peru said international solidarity has failed, and Ghana lamented vaccine nationalism. The head of the UN described the uneven distribution of vaccines against Covid-19 as an “obscenity”.
“Rich countries stockpile life-saving vaccines, while poor nations wait for trifles,” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday (21). Around 35% of people who received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine are from high-income countries, and at least 28% are from Europe and North America, according to Reuters data collected in countries that publish these numbers.
Meanwhile, vaccination rates in some countries, such as Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are less than 1%, a Reuters monitoring service has shown.
The African continent is the biggest victim of vaccine nationalism, said Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo today (22). Around 900 million Africans still need vaccines to reach the 70% level achieved in other parts of the world. (With Reuters)