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There is a fear that the poorest countries will be left behind as the richest nations “hoard” more doses of the coronavirus vaccine than they need.
Rich countries have amassed a large enough stock of vaccine doses to immunize their people almost three times as many by the end of next year, assuming all vaccines in clinical trials are approved for use.
The findings come from the People’s Vaccine Alliance, which includes Oxfam and Amnesty International, which analyzed the agreements made between the countries and the top eight vaccine candidates.
It found that all doses of the Moderna vaccine have been purchased by wealthy countries, as have 96% of the doses from Pfizer.
Only 14% of the world’s population has purchased 53% of the most promising vaccines, and Canada stands out for having enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian five times.
The poorest countries, on the other hand, will only be able to vaccinate one in 10 people next year, the alliance said.
Five of the countries most likely to lag behind – Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Ukraine – have reported 1.5 million coronavirus cases in total.
Even a promise from those behind the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine to allocate 64% of the doses to people in developing countries may not be enough.
It is believed that the supply is likely to reach only 18% of the world’s population next year at the most.
The alliance says governments and the pharmaceutical industry must take urgent action to make sure there are enough doses of vaccines for the world, not just for countries that can afford them.
Stephen Cockburn, Director of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International, said: “Vaccine hoarding actively undermines global efforts to ensure that everyone, everywhere, can be protected against COVID-19.
“Rich countries have clear human rights obligations, not only to refrain from actions that may harm access to vaccines elsewhere, but also to cooperate and provide assistance to countries that need it.”
Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s health policy manager, said: “No one should be prevented from receiving a life-saving vaccine because of the country they live in or the amount of money in their pocket.
“But unless something drastically changes, billions of people around the world will not receive a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 in the next few years.”
Preet Kaur Gill, Labor shadow secretary for international development, said: “UK taxpayers deserve to know that money spent on their behalf ensures genuinely equitable access around the world to make us more secure as soon as possible “.
