Paris. More than 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in 107 countries and territories, and 45% of the doses were injected in the rich G7 countries (the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan ), despite the fact that they only house 10% of the world’s population.
According to an AFP count from official sources, as of Saturday at 10:00 am GMT, there were a total of 201,042,149 administered doses. But this number of injected vaccines is lower than the real one since two important countries, Russia and China, have not communicated their official figures for ten days.
The rich vaccinate, the poor wait
The G7 countries announced on Friday their commitment in favor of a better distribution with poor countries, by doubling their support for vaccination against the coronavirus, which will reach 7.5 billion dollars, mainly through the Covax program, managed by the Organization World Health Organization (WHO), which seeks to deliver sufficient doses of vaccines to nations with fewer resources.
But right now, nine out of ten vaccines are injected in high- or medium-high-income countries, according to the World Bank classification, and almost half (45%) in those of the G7.
In contrast, in the 29 “weak” income countries, only Guinea and Rwanda have started vaccinating. Some 1.84 billion people – almost a quarter of the world’s population – live in countries that have not yet vaccinated.
The United States, Canada and European countries account for more than 68 million of the 110 million infections in the world.
In the number of deaths, the United States exceeds 495,000, well ahead of the second country on the list, Brazil (more than 244,000 deaths). Europe adds more than 825,000 deaths, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 655,000, according to data updated this Saturday at 11:00 GMT.
“No country will be safe until all are,” the Organization of American States (OAS) warned this week in a resolution approved by acclamation by its Permanent Council, which brings together the 34 active members of the body.
The initiative, presented by the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), and co-sponsored by Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay, among others, highlights that defeating the virus in a “sustainable” way throughout the planet will depend “on availability. and the distribution of vaccines for all “.
Israel in the lead
Israel is by far the most advanced country in vaccination as 49% of its population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. At this time, one in three inhabitants of that country (33%) has received the two necessary doses.
Other countries have exceeded 10% of the vaccinated population. These are the United Kingdom (25%), Bahrain (16%), the United States (13%), Chile (12%) and the Maldives (12%).
In absolute numbers, the United States is the country that has injected the most vaccines (59.6 million doses), ahead of China (40.5 million until February 9), the United Kingdom (17.5 million), India ( 10.7 million) and Israel (7.1 million).
The 27 countries of the European Union accumulate 26 million doses, administered to 3.8% of the population. Malta (9.2%) is in the lead, while France, Germany or Spain are in the middle.
A dozen vaccines
North America, Europe, Israel and the Gulf countries have largely opted for the vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech (United States / Germany) and Moderna (United States). Pfizer / BioNTech doses are also administered in Japan and New Zealand.
Much of Europe also vaccinates with the Swedish-British AstraZeneca / Oxford doses, also used in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Morocco.
India also relies on a locally developed vaccine, that from Bharat Biotech.
The Sputnik V vaccine, from the Russian center Gamaleya, is administered in Russia, but also in Argentina, Venezuela, Iran, or Algeria.
The two Chinese vaccines developed by Sinopharm are used in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Seychelles, Egypt, Zimbabwe or Serbia. That of Sinovac, in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. The Chinese company CanSino was authorized in Mexico, but is not yet managed.
Johnson & Johnson’s US vaccine is currently only administered in South Africa. It is the only single-dose vaccine in the world, as the others require two injections.
– .
