Hoarding vaccines

The United States, the worst affected country from the coronavirus, is starting an unprecedented historic mass inoculation campaign to stop the surging pandemic that is claiming thousands of lives every day. This has given hope that our lives and economies may finally get back to normal.

The US is administering the shots days after the first vaccine was approved but it will be months before most Americans get the doses. Still only around 100 million people will be immunized by March and safety precautions such as masks will be needed to control the outbreak. This is besides the growing number of people who are hesitant to take the two-dose regime.

The US has surpassed 16 million cases and is fast approaching the grim 300,000 death toll which could even each half million by summer. The UK has already become the first country to start a mass vaccination campaign while other European countries are expected to follow soon. But this has left a fundamental question. What about the developing world?

Rich countries are hoarding does of COVID-19 vaccines and people in underdeveloped countries are set to miss out. The People’s Vaccine Alliance, a coalition of campaign bodies, has warned that nearly 70 lower-income countries will only be able to vaccinate one in ten people. Developed countries have been the first in line to buy the vaccine from large pharmaceutical companies.

Developing countries like Pakistan have to wait months before receiving the first batch of vaccines and have to find alternates such as the Chinese and Russian vaccines. The global vaccine movement COVAX managed to secure 700 million doses for lower-incomes but faces a funding shortfall. The alliance, which comprises of global organisations such as Amnesty International, Oxfam and Global Justice, claims that rich countries have bought enough vaccines to vaccinate their population several times over.

Rich countries represent just 14 percent of the world’s population but have already bought 53 percent of the vaccines. Canada has ordered enough to vaccinate each citizen five times. The world is falling in the equitable distribution of resources for a virus that has affect all of us. No one should be stopped from receiving a vaccine for belonging to a developing country or not having sufficient money.

Billions of people around the world may not be able to receive a safe and effective vaccine for years until something drastically changes. It is our collective responsibility to share technology, resources and have equal access so we can defeat the pandemic collectively.