While images of people lined up for long-awaited COVID-19 vaccinations spurred hope in millions across the globe, they stirred up something else in Dr. Juan Jose Velez: frustration.
Velez runs the coronavirus ward in one of the biggest public hospitals in Colombia, a country with one of the highest death rates and positivity rates in the world.
While more than 152 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, with roughly a third of those in the U.S., according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, Colombia is among a number of lower- to middle-income countries that still had not administered a single dose by mid-February.
“I think the greatest thing this has shown us is the lack of solidarity …. the fact that lots of countries have started vaccinating, while many poorer countries haven’t even started,” Velez said.
This disparity is playing out across the world, and it’s one health experts have warned of since the onset of the pandemic: While richer countries rapidly vaccinate their populations and buy up doses, other nations are projected to not have wider access to the vaccine until late 2022 or 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
‘On the brink of a catastrophic moral failure’
While some efforts are being made to close that gap, WHO officials warn vaccine nationalism – where countries prioritize vaccination of their own citizens over the rest of the world – has put the world “on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure.”
In his hospital in Medellín, Colombia’s second-largest city, Velez said a refrigerator that would eventually carry COVID-19 vaccine vials had arrived, but it was still uncertain when he and other medical staff on the frontlines would have access to their first shot. He said he lost count months ago of how many of his patients died.
Dr. Salim Abdool Karim of South Africa was one of the first to warn of vaccine disparities.
At the onset of the pandemic, he called for a “global public good.”
“The alternative is what we have now: which is countries scrambling, those with deep pockets going and out-bidding others to get vaccines, and everyone is in a race to buy up vaccines,” said the infectious diseases epidemiologist, who has worked on HIV/AIDS and polio in Africa. “So middle-income countries, lower-income countries, they just fold their arms and say, what are we going to do, we don’t have vaccines.”
He told USA TODAY he’s concerned, but not shocked, at the inequality that has emerged.
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a deal to purchase an additional 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses.
“We’ve now purchased enough vaccine supplies to vaccinate all Americans,” Biden said.
In addition to finalizing contracts with Pfizer and Moderna for 100 million more doses each that will be delivered by the end of July, Biden said 100 million other doses that were supposed to arrive in June will now be delivered in May.
“That’s a month faster,” Biden said. “That means lives will be saved.”
To fulfill his promise of administering 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days, Biden has taken steps both to increase production of vaccines and improve vaccination rates. Biden said Thursday that goal will be surpassed.
Despite high vaccination rates, disparities have also emerged within the U.S. People of color have suffered disproportionate rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths as a result of longstanding systemic inequities and racism. A lack of data is further masking vaccination rollout transparency, health equity researchers say, and the data deficit is hurting those most vulnerable. So far, only 16 states are releasing vaccination counts by race and ethnicity, and the data is incomplete. Early findings show states that rank high on COVID-19 vulnerability indexes are falling behind on vaccinations.
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