Rich countries have way more COVID-19 vaccine doses than they need as poor countries scramble to secure enough.
This is part one in a series.
The ship has sailed on vaccine equity. Rich countries have preordered enough COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their populations multiple times. The World Health Organisation’s vision of equal access through COVAX is at risk of failing and mass immunisation in low-income countries isn’t likely until 2024 — if at all.
Vaccine nationalism — where countries put their populations first, time and time again — is being met with vaccine diplomacy, with China stepping up as a seemingly charitable friend.
