Rich nations have acquired 'more than half' of promised COVID-19 vaccine doses: Report

As the global COVID-19 cases are nearing 30 million, the race for acquiring the potential doses of the vaccine has grown more intense. With the calculations that “expose a broken system”, a recent report by an international anti-poverty nonprofit Oxfam revealed on September 17 that rich nations including the United States, UK and Japan that represent only 13 per cent of the world’s population have already acquired 51 per cent of the promised doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. 

While the health and finance ministers of the G20 countries readied to meet and discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the nonprofit organisation has alerted on the situation based on the agreements struck between the rich nations with the five leading vaccine candidates that are currently in the final stage of clinical trials according to the data collected by Airfinity. Moreover, it also found out that most companies do not have the ability to make enough COVID-19 vaccine does for all the people who require the same. 

In an alarming revelation, Oxfam said in its report, “Even in the extremely unlikely event that all five vaccines succeed, nearly two thirds (61 per cent) of the world’s population will not have a vaccine until at least 2022.”

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‘Broken system’ sides with wealthier nations

Moreover, as per the reports, some of the experiments of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates are likely to ‘fail’, that would lead to a greater number of people without the access of the vaccine. Oxfam has also warned that these “calculations expose a broken system” that provides protection to the monopolies of the pharmaceutical corporations and sides with the wealthier nations, leaving the poorer nations “out in the cold”. 

One of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Moderna has reportedly already received $2.48 billion in committed taxpayer’s money. But still, the company has said that it is planning to make a profit from its vaccine and thus, has already sold the options for all of its supply to the rich nations. 

The report added, “Beyond the five leading vaccine candidates, reported vaccine deals also reveal stark inequalities between countries. The UK government has managed to secure deals on several leading vaccine candidates, equivalent to five doses per head of population. By contrast, Oxfam analysis reveals that Bangladesh has so far secured only one dose for every nine people.”

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