Giving Compass' Take:
- Joe McCarthy explains how limited funding, vaccine nationalism, and new COVID-19 variants inhibit the equitable distribution of vaccines around the world.
- Why are low-risk people in wealthier countries likely to receive vaccines before high-risk people in the Global South? How can philanthropy help to support initiatives for global vaccine equity?
- Read about COVAX, the central mechanism in the global vaccine effort.
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More than 159 million people in 76 countries have received COVID-19 vaccines, with more people being vaccinated each week. But the WHO reported that there are multiple issues threatening to undermine the effort to achieve global herd immunity against COVID-19 — and unless these obstacles are dealt with, the pandemic could go on indefinitely.
Here are three of the biggest threats facing the global vaccination effort:
- A Funding Gap: There is currently a $27 billion funding gap for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which aims to ensure equitable access to tests, treatments, and vaccines around the world
- Vaccine Nationalism: When countries insist on using their leverage and resources to vaccinate their own citizens before other countries receive vaccines: that’s vaccine nationalism.
- New COVID-19 Variants: The rapid spread of highly contagious strains further highlights the need for fair vaccine distribution. Otherwise, new and more dangerous mutations could emerge that render existing vaccines ineffective.
Read the full article about obstacles to vaccine equity by Joe McCarthy at Global Citizen.