Billions In Low-Income Nations Will Not Receive Their Vaccine Anytime Soon

(Posted on Thursday, January 21, 2021)

The urgency to develop and approve Covid-19 vaccines translated into a slow and arduous distribution process. According to the Bloomberg News Vaccine Tracker, a little over 50 million doses of vaccines have been distributed in 51 countries. That leaves only about 7.7 billion more people to go. Unless there’s a significant increase in production and distribution, billions will not receive the vaccine in 2021, most of which are located in low-income countries, which will result in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of unnecessary deaths.

A closer inspection of the vaccine tracker shows a stunning, yet unsurprising trend for vaccine administration. The vast majority of vaccines distributed have been in global economic powers like the United States, China, and Europe. Countries in the global south, which tend to be lower-income countries, distributed much fewer doses. Covid-19 is not absent in these countries, nor are their governments refusing to distribute vaccines. They are simply lower on the priority list in comparison to others.

An early report in December by the People’s Vaccine Alliance noted that rich nations comprising only 14% of the world population had bought 53% of the vaccines to that point. This aligns with trends today as well. The United States, China, EU, UK, and Israel have administered about 45 million of the 50 million doses. Reports emerged that Canada was purchasing as many as five times the amount of vaccines as it has people. Vaccine hoarding endangers low-income countries and risks extending the pandemic.

Some South African health officials have gone as far as labeling this health inequality as “vaccine apartheid.” Especially as South Africa is being ravaged by a new, more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variant, the need to accelerate vaccine distribution is at an all-time high. We know these variants mutate rapidly. Early indications suggest that the new South African variant may be able to reinfect those who have previously had Covid-19, suggesting they may mutate to a point where they are immune-resistant to neutralizing antibodies and, potentially, vaccines. 

With the UK and South African variants spreading like wildfire and more new variants beginning to emerge, the global community needs to come together to get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible. So long as there is a chance the current vaccines will protect against the virus, they should be distributed. If variants become resistant to vaccines, pharmaceutical companies will have to start working on the new strains, as they do with the influenza vaccines every year.

Economic powerhouses like the US and EU should sponsor mass investment in vaccine distribution in low-income countries. These investments could strengthen health systems with vaccine distribution centers, rapid test production, and increasing health staffers. Not to mention, investments could be used to purchase and store vaccines until they are needed. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require super-cold storage to maintain efficacy, making them even more inaccessible for countries without many super-cold storage facilities.

Investment in health systems could be extended past Covid-19 as well. Developing a vaccination distribution system could translate to non-Covid vaccine programs. Routine immunization is less common in low-income countries. With robust health systems and vaccine investment, more people could be vaccinated for communicable, vaccine-preventable diseases. Ideally, we could stop people from dying from Covid-19, but also diphtheria, tetanus, measles, and others.

Vaccines, as they stand today, are inaccessible via shortages and vaccine hoarding. Preventing a long-term extension to the pandemic will require controlling Covid-19 in every country. So long as there are people infected, the virus may be able to mutate and spread. While we can, we should try to get these vaccines to every person possible. While there is no guarantee vaccines will put an end to Covid-19, there is a chance they can save thousands of lives, and that is a chance worth taking.

Read the article on Forbes

Originally published on January 21, 2021.