Enough to go round
Gordon Brown is right (“How to fix,” November). Twenty months on from the WHO declaring the pandemic, the majority of scientists and policymakers agree we have the means to end it—but only if we address the unequal distribution of vaccines. While around 70 per cent of the total population of the UK is fully vaccinated, accounting for over 110m doses, less than 1 per cent of Haiti’s is.
Although the previous two waves of Covid-19 only caused 24,233 confirmed cases and less than 1,000 deaths in Haiti, the low vaccine coverage risks combining with wider vulnerabilities. The early effects of climate change, natural disasters, and socio-economic crises have contributed to clustering in the cities. We need to multiply the number of doses available and develop effective strategies to distribute them. Haiti received 500,000 doses from the US through the Covax initiative in July. While members of the G7 pledge more resources to end Covid-19, it is worth holding on to the principle that no one is safe until all are safe.
Jean Hugues Henrys and Kenny Moise, Université Quisqueya, Haiti
I have witnessed first-hand the consequences of the vaccine nationalism described by Gordon Brown. Each time another small shipment of vaccines arrives in Mbarara in Uganda, I receive call after call from anxious family members in the community who are praying they finally receive immunity. But our health centres are forced to turn many people away after rapidly running out of intermittently available doses.
Although the former prime minister’s recommendations are well intentioned, an effective response by vaccine-producing countries and global institutions cannot be based on simply giving away “unused” or “surplus” vaccines, as if people from poorer countries can make do with the world’s leftovers.
With over 85 per cent of eligible Ugandans still in need of vaccination, and with increasing concerns that people may require annual boosters, international leaders must take much bolder action to massively scale up vaccine production in places like Uganda and to ensure that doses remain affordable for all. Stephen Asiimwe, Kabwohe Clinical Research Centre, Uganda