A group of wealthy nations representing 13% of the global population have purchased more than half of the doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine in the future, Oxfam reported on Wednesday (16/9).
Oxfam, a non-governmental organization, analyzed the deals made by vaccine manufacturers. For five of the leading vaccine candidates currently in final trials, based on data from Airfinity’s analytical flaws.
“Access to a vaccine doesn’t have to depend on where you live or how much money you have,” said Robert Silverman of Oxfam America as quoted by Channel News Asia.
“The development and approval of a safe and effective vaccine is very important, but what is no less important is making sure the vaccine is available and affordable for everyone. Covid-19 is everywhere,” he said.
There are 5 vaccines that Oxam analyzed
The five vaccines that Oxfam analyzed came from AstraZeneca, Gamaleya, Moderna, Pfizer, and Sinovac.
Oxfam calculated that the combined production capacity of the five vaccine candidates reached 5.9 billion doses. This is sufficient for nearly three billion people, at least one person will receive two doses.
51% of vaccine doses have been purchased by rich countries
Supply deals so far are for 5.3 billion doses, of which 2.7 billion or 51% have been purchased by rich countries, territories and regions, including the United States (US), UK, European Union, Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, Japan, Switzerland, and Israel.
The remaining 2.6 billion doses have been purchased by or promised to developing countries. It includes India, Bangladesh, China, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico.
Oxfam added that one of the leading coronavirus vaccine candidates, developed by Moderna, has even received US $ 2.5 billion.
Hope there will be ‘people’s vaccine’ for free
Therefore, Oxfam and other organizations are calling for free “people’s vaccines” to be distributed fairly based on need.
“This will only be possible if pharmaceutical companies allow vaccines to be produced as widely as possible. By sharing their knowledge freely without patents, rather than protecting their monopoly and selling to the highest bidder,” Silverman said.
He added that the estimated cost of providing a corona virus vaccine for everyone on Earth is less than 1% of the budget for global economic recovery.
READ ALSO: India: $6 Billion COVID-19 Vaccine Sales Expected
Follow and join us on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to be part of the trader community in Asia