Coronavirus: The chief scientist at the World Health Organization believes that the milestone of 2 billion doses will arrive faster (Sajjad Hussain / AFP / Getty Images)
Nearly a year and a half after the pandemic spread, the world had access to the world One billion doses distributed against The new corona virus In four months.
The first vaccinations began in United State Nor United kingdom After the World Health Organization (Who is theApproval a Pfizer vaccine With BioNTech for emergency use. The speed of the campaigns in some countries is noticeable, but it is also a highlight Uneven distribution Among the rich regions.
As of April 27, 570 million people have been given 1.06 billion doses, which means approximately that 7.3% of the population of 7.79 billion received at least one dose. Scientists estimate that more than 75% of the world’s population needs to be vaccinated to control the epidemic.
It is an unprecedented scientific achievement. “No one could imagine that in 16 months after identifying a new virus, we would be vaccinating a billion people around the world with a variety of different vaccines, using different platforms and made in different countries,” said Sumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at the World Health Organization.
Uneven distribution is a problem
The race to request vaccines ended by shedding more light on the problems of inequality around the world. About three-quarters of all doses went to just ten countries. Just China The United States accounts for nearly half of all doses distributed, while … Only 2% went to the entire African continent.
Krishna Udiakumar, Associate Director of Innovation at Duke Global Health Institute.
With slow vaccination in the vast majority of countries, the issue of inequality will remain strong through 2021. Even if they handle their own campaigns well, the wealthiest countries will not be able to “return to normal” if the rest of the world does. We don’t walk together. – With the return of international flights and the emergence of new variants, for example, the expectation is that the fight against the Coronavirus is not over for everyone.
You cannot do that with less than a dozen fully fortified countries. In terms of saving lives and restoring the global economy, we need places like Myanmar and Papua New Guinea to succeed, ”said Peter Hotez, vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine.
Another caveat for countries that feed faster is the lack of access for minorities within the same area. One a study Conducted in the United Kingdom, for example, it found that of the 1.1 million elderly people over 80 who were treated for health problems earlier in the year, 42.5% of white participants were vaccinated against the coronavirus, compared to only 20.5% of the black participants. .
The study authors also noted social and economic divisions. Udayakumar warns that “vaccinating only parts of the population is not an effective strategy and leaves us vulnerable to new changes.” “A global pandemic can only be addressed with a global response.”
Udayakumar says global vaccine manufacturers are increasing production to meet demand, but “it could take 6 to 12 months to achieve this”. However, on a more positive note, Swaminathan believes we will reach 2 billion doses delivered much faster than the first billion.
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