(Newser)
– While good news continues to arrive about coronavirus efforts in the United States, including a deal reported by the Biden government that got 200 million more doses for Americans, things are not progressing so well in many parts of the world. In fact, UNICEF claims that 130 countries “still need to administer a single dose” per NPR, leaving 2.5 billion people destitute and highlighting the great disparity between rich and poorer nations. Among the factors underlying the problem is the lack of sufficient vaccines for everyone, as well as possible problems with the current vaccine candidates in combating the variants of COVID-19. South Africa, for example, adopted the Johnson & Johnson vaccine of the AstraZeneca variety – an easy-to-store and relatively inexpensive vaccine that resource-poor countries were betting on using – because the latter was not considered as effective in preventing COVID caused by variant B.1.351 now prevalent in South Africa.
The drug maker Moderna has already sold most of its initial supply of vaccines to wealthier countries, according to the Washington Post, and other companies are following suit, leaving the poorest countries desperate for any vaccine, even those that are not as effective. The World Health Organization projects that these struggling nations may not have broad access to the vaccine by the end of 2022 or even 2023, for example. USA today. To help these countries, WHO helped launch COVAX, a vaccination program that tries to ensure that the world’s poorest nations receive 20% of their populations (mainly the elderly and health professionals) vaccinated by the end of the year. “That way, you avoid what … would be unethical and unfair,” a South African doctor told the newspaper. Also dangerous, Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome charity, told Euronews: “Vaccinating many people in some countries, leaving the virus uncontrolled in large parts of the world, will cause more variants to emerge.” (Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.)