The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is progressing at “two alarmingly different speeds”, UN agency leaders said in a statement, highlighting that less than 2 percent of adults are fully vaccinated in most low-income countries compared to over 50 percent in high-income nations.
The heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO) met with the CEOs of leading vaccine manufacturing companies to discuss strategies to improve the access to COVID-19 vaccines, especially in low- and lower middle-income countries and in Africa.
The task force said without urgent steps, the world will not be able to meet its 40% vaccination goal by the end of 2021, which in a statement they note is a critical milestone that is key for ending the pandemic and supporting global economic recovery.
They emphasized that companies are making enough vaccines, but doses aren’t reaching low- and middle-income countries, fueling ongoing vaccine inequities. Many of the steps the task force recommends have already been aired by health groups working on vaccine inequity.
Countries with high vaccination rates have already bought 2 billion more doses than they need to fully vaccinate their populations, so the task force again called on the countries to swap their near-term delivery schedules with COVAX and Africa’s vaccine initiative. They also pushed countries to fulfill their donation pledges and release vaccine companies from contracts and options so the companies can funnel supplies to developing countries.
The task force also urged countries to eliminate export restrictions, high tariffs, and customs bottlenecks on the raw materials used to produce the vaccines. In addition, members of the inter-agency task force called on companies to share details about monthly delivery schedules and for national regulatory agencies to standardize the approval of vaccines and to support the WHO’s emergency use listing system.
“Vaccine inequity is the world’s biggest obstacle to ending this pandemic and recovering from COVID-19,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “Economically, epidemiologically and morally, it is in all countries’ best interest to use the latest available data to make lifesaving vaccines available to all.”*
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Dr. Melvin Sanicas (@Vaccinologist) is a physician-scientist specializing in vaccines, infectious diseases, and global health.