The World Health Organization warns that the COVID-19 pandemic could easily drag on until 2022. This is because poor countries are not getting the vaccines they need.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized the uneven distribution of vaccines. Previously, senior WHO official Dr Bruce Aylward had also warned that the lack of a vaccine would keep the pandemic from continuing into 2022.
"We urge rich countries to give up their vaccine allocations so that pharmaceutical companies can prioritize low-income countries," he said.
Quoted from the BBC, Friday (10/22/2021) less than 5% of the African population has been vaccinated. This figure is very unequal compared to most other continents where the percentage is 40%.
Aylward said rich countries need to take stock of where they are, with their donation commitments made at summits such as the G7 meeting in St Ives this summer.
"I tell you that we are not on the right track. We really need to speed things up. Otherwise, this pandemic will last longer than it should," he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 4.6 million people and infected more than 228 million worldwide, on the other hand has exposed glaring inequalities among countries regarding vaccine access and affordability.
According to WHO research, there will be enough vaccines produced by 2021 to reach 70% of the global population of 7.8 billion. However, most vaccines are reserved for rich countries, while other vaccine-producing countries limit dose exports so they can ensure that their citizens get vaccinated first, an act known as "vaccine nationalism".
The decision by some countries to give booster vaccines to people who have been injected rather than prioritizing doses to people who are not vaccinated in poor countries has also come under intense scrutiny.
According to the Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity (founded by UNDP, WHO and Oxford University) on October 20, only 4.51% of people in low-income countries have been vaccinated with at least one dose. This figure is very far compared to 62.79% in high-income countries.