An international regulating body has found that rich countries have obtained more than enough doses of COVID19 vaccines. It has caused a major shortage of vaccines for developing countries. Developed nations have bought enough vaccines to inoculate their citizens at least three times. In the scarcity of vaccines, poor nations will be left behind in the global race to put an end to the COVID19 pandemic, said the experts. The People’s Vaccine Alliance has said that in 67 poor nations, only one in 10 people might receive the vaccine by the end of the next year. Developed countries have been rushing to secure vaccine supplies in the first weeks and months of the pandemic itself. They have ordered surplus doses of the COVID19 vaccine. As per the international agency, developed nations contribute to only 14 percent of the world population. At present, these nations have more than half of the most promising vaccines in the world. The agency has appealed to pharmaceutical firms to share their technology and intellectual property with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Experts from the regulating body have urged governments to take a pledge to send the vaccines to developing nations as well to close the economical disparity between the countries. They have said that economically weaker nations are trying to emerge from the devastating COVID19 crisis, and it is a collective responsibility of developed nations to help them. Health Policy Manager at Oxfam Anna Marriot has said that no one should be barred from getting a life-saving vaccine due to their native place and economic status. The people vaccine Alliance is made up of charities such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Global Justice Now, and Others. Anna Marriot has said that unless officials plan it differently, billions of people across the world will not be getting a safe and effective vaccine for COVID19 for years to come.
Around 96 percent of Pfizer vaccine doses have been procured by rich countries. Almost all the doses of the Moderna vaccine, which has been proved to be 94 percent effective, have been bought by the wealthiest countries. The Canadian government has obtained more than enough doses of all leading vaccines to immunize their citizens for five times if they are approved. On the other hand, around 67 countries are at a high risk of being barred from the pathway out of the pandemic. As per the data, Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Ukraine have more than 1.5 million cases combined. Experts have said that the hoardings of vaccines will derail the global effort to ensure that everybody is protected from COVID19. They have said that by procuring the vast majority of the world’s vaccine supply, rich nations are violating their human rights obligations. As per the regulating body, nearly 172 nations will participate in COVAX, which is an initiative of the WHO to provide global access to effective COVID19 vaccines. As per the report, around 250 million doses of the vaccines have been verified as purchased under this scheme. The US Center for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon decide on granting emergency use authorization to Pfizer vaccine in the US.
