Mirror Feature: Global Vaccine Distribution

As of May 8, over 1.27 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered internationally. And in the United States alone, 257 million doses have been given, with 113 million people being fully vaccinated, a whopping 34% of the country’s population.

Global Vaccine Inequality:

However, this widespread vaccination may not be so widespread as it appears to the average American. Countries designated as “high income” by the World Bank account for over half of all vaccines purchased globally (54%), while themselves making up only about a fifth of the global population (19%). In stark contrast, “low income” and “lower middle income” countries only account for 15% of all global purchases, while making up 44% of the international population.

The difference in vaccine access between countries is due to a myriad of factors. Countries with the most vaccinations as a proportion of population, such as those of Western Europe and North America, tend to either be producing vaccines of their own, or are close trading partners with those that are. Additionally, these wealthier nations tend to have a more developed medical infrastructure and global bargaining power as compared to their poorer counterparts.

Much of the international inequality can be traced back to months before the vaccine was released however, experts say. Wealthy nations, primarily through the summer and fall of last year, were able to cut deals directly with pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, pre ordering vaccines which were at the time undergoing human testing. Poorer countries were not often able to make these expensive and risky (given that the vaccines had not yet proved efficacy and safety) purchases, and ended up in the backlog, while the wealthier nations went to the front of the line.

Current production of vaccines is also a major, if not the largest, hurdle for countries outside of those housing the major vaccine companies. Due to patent protections on vaccines such as the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, only approved manufacturers can manufacture the vaccine supply, and the prices are controlled by the company directly. Calls have been growing across the world to suspend patent protection for the vaccines, many of which were funded almost entirely by government sponsorship.

A potential breakthrough may have been made last week when President Joe Biden announced American support for waiving the patents, overturning his administration’s previous position. This change put the United States at odds with the vast majority of high income countries, who have so far rejected the proposal. Some US allies and fellow high income countries, such as France, have joined the proposal following the American President’s announcement, though others, such as Germany, have rejected it.

COVID-19 Vaccines:

As of May 8, fifteen COVID-19 vaccines have finished Phase III human trials and entered public use across the world. A further fourteen vaccines are currently in Phase III human trials, awaiting results. They are the following