Poor nations yearn for COVID-19 vaccines as rich nations take away lion's share
September 8, 2021, 10:38 am

Poor nations yearn for COVID-19 vaccines as rich nations take away lion's share

coronavirus vaccine

The Xinhua reported according to a Bloomberg report carried by an Indian English daily Business Standard on Tuesday, rich nations are taking away a lion's share of the COVID-19 vaccines even as the poorer and third-world nations are yearning for them.

According to the report, the poorest nations are still waiting for anything beyond a trickle of the life-saving doses, "because many lack the financial clout to secure contracts for COVID-19 vaccines on their own, they depend for supplies largely on COVAX, an initiative backed by groups including the World Health Organization that was designed to provide fair access to the shots for every country. And COVAX has fallen short of its goals."

Citing United Nations figures, the report said that while 57 percent of people in high-income countries had received at least one dose of vaccine by Aug. 30, the figure in low-income countries was just 2 percent.

Health advocates worry that the imbalance will be aggravated by plans in wealthy countries to provide booster shots to fully inoculated people to combat the super-contagious delta variant of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report said, the uneven distribution has prompted proposals to expand production of COVID-19 vaccine shots, reallocate rich countries' excess doses, and ensure vaccines are deployed more equitably in future pandemics.

The report added: "As inoculations were being developed, a number of affluent countries signed advance contracts with a variety of companies, securing the lion's share of initial doses. The U.S., as part of its multibillion-dollar programme hastening the development of vaccines, also used wartime powers to require manufacturers to fill massive U.S. government orders first."

Source: xinhua

Abu Dhabi wealth fund to focus on technology and climate change for its post-COVID-19 strategy Migrants continue to arrive to UK through the English Channel ahead of France talks

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.