“With every day that passes, the divide grows larger between the world’s haves and have-nots.” Usually a lament about disparity in wealth, the World Health Organisation’s director-general, who made the comments this week in Geneva, had more immediate concerns.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was warning about “vaccine nationalism”, the lopsided distribution of the limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines in favour of wealthy nations.
The WHO estimates that COVID-19 vaccines are now being administered in 50 countries around the world but they are nearly all wealthy nations. Seventy-five per cent of doses have been deployed in only 10 countries.
This week the Biden administration in the United States announced it was committed to buying another 200 million doses of the two vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) that have been authorised for emergency use in the US.
In Europe, where vaccine deliveries from Pfizer and AstraZeneca are falling short, officials are considering putting conditions on exports to other countries. The EU’s proposal could slow the distribution process to some countries, including Australia.
