COVAX vaccine delivery delay underlines reality of rich/poor divide

Concern that the dynamics of the rich/poor divide may serve as a compelling barrier to rolling back the global scourge of the coronavirus would appear to be growing even as the United Nations itself begins to pointedly pronounce on the disparity in numbers between rich and poor countries insofar as the administering of covid-19 vaccinations are concerned.

On Wednesday, a statement sourced to “UN and partner agencies responsible for the multilateral COVAX initiative” designed to ensure equal vaccine access for all ” noted that while 80 percent of citizens in high and upper-middle income countries have had “a dose of covid-19 vaccine” while that figure, for those “living below the top tiers” stands at just 20%.

In a blunt concession that the prevailing global regime that obtains in the pattern of vaccine distribution reflects a global walking back on the internationally accepted axiom that the broader global divide between rich and poor has to be adjusted the statement takes a swipe at the barriers that have been erected to the effective functioning of the COVAX initiative by rich countries including by “export bans, the prioritization of bilateral deals by manufacturers and countries, ongoing challenges in scaling up production by some key producers, and delays in filing for regulatory approval” as barriers that inhibit the timely delivery of vaccines to poor countries.

The UN’s concern over the fragility of the earlier undertakings with regard to the supply of covid-19 vaccines to poor countries is also echoed in equally pointed pronouncements that have been made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), among others.

The statement notes that while the COVAX initiative had already raised more than US$10 billion, secured “legally binding commitments” for up to 4.5 billion vaccines and already distributed 240 million doses to 139 countries “in just six months, the latest Supply Forecast it expects to have just 1.425 billion doses of the vaccine this year “in the most likely scenario and in the absence of urgent action by producers and high-coverage countries to prioritize COVAX” the international partners behind the initiative said.

In the light of what is already emerging as a crisis in the timely delivery of the vaccine to countries most needing them the COVAX partnership is calling on donors and manufacturers to recommit their support and “prevent further delays to equitable access”, by ensuring, among other things, that “manufacturers deliver to COVAX “in accordance with firm commitments and provide transparency on timelines for availability to COVAX to allow countries to plan in advance.”