Vaccine inequality costs rich countries tens of billions in lost performance

(CNN Business) – Inequality in vaccination is undermining a “true global economic recovery” after the COVID-19 crisis, according to data published this Thursday by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO ) and the University of Oxford.

The organizations stated that vaccine inequality it will have a “lasting and profound impact” on the recovery of low- and lower-middle-income countries, unless urgent steps are taken to ensure that all countries have sufficient supplies and adequate access.

“At a time when richer countries have paid trillions in stimulus money to shore up ailing economies, now is the time to ensure that vaccine doses are shared quickly, that all barriers to increasing vaccine manufacturing are removed, and that financial support be guaranteed so that vaccines are equitably distributed and a true global economic recovery can take place, “they said in a statement.

If vaccine manufacturing had increased, enough doses had been shared with the poorest countries, and they had vaccination rates similar to those of high-income countries, US $ 38 billion could have been added to their GDP forecasts. nations by 2021, according to data, compiled in the “Global Dashboard for Covid-19 Vaccine Equity.”

The statement said that a high price of vaccines “could place a huge burden on fragile health systems”, affect routine immunizations and essential health services, and cause spikes in diseases such as measles, pneumonia and diarrhea.

The Dashboard, which uses data from multiple organizations including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, shows that it is anticipated richer countries vaccinate faster and recover economically faster.

Meanwhile, the poorest countries, some of which have not even been able to vaccinate their health workers and the most exposed populations, “may not reach pre-covid-19 growth levels until 2024.”

As rich countries with high vaccination rates, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, begin to open up, the delta variant and other variants of the coronavirus force some countries to reestablish public health measures against the virus. Africa is currently facing its worst phase of the pandemic, and in South Africa hospitals have been overflowing with patients.

“This exacerbates the social, economic and health impact, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized people,” says the statement from UNDP, WHO and the University of Oxford.

In Asia, Indonesia took the place of india as the new epicenter of the pandemic, with hundreds of deaths a day in a country that has a vaccination rate less than 6%. In Thailand and Myanmar And in much of the continent, cases and deaths have also increased in recent weeks.

The CNN data show that dozens of low-income countries have administered fewer than 10 doses of vaccines for every 100 people, such as Kenya, Bangladesh and Uganda. Some countries have run out of doses or are about to do so.

The three organizations joint call to action comes a day after they Pfizer announces an agreement to produce its vaccine highly effective in South Africa, a move that could significantly increase access to vaccines across the continent.

Most of the poorest nations currently depend on the initiative of worldwide distribution of Covax vaccines, but this has been affected by supply problems after the suspension of exports from the Serum Institute of India, which produces a large number of doses.

“Inequality in vaccines is the world’s greatest obstacle to ending this pandemic and recovering from covid-19,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the statement.

“From an economic, epidemiological and moral point of view, it is best for all countries to use the latest available data to make life-saving vaccines available to all,” he added.

Radina Gigova reported from Atlanta; Jeevan Ravindran wrote from London.