IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath told NDTV today – or poorer countries lacking access to a Covid vaccine – facing the growing threat of Omicron is a tragic thing, The Economist IMF chief Gita Gopinath told NDTV today, as she pointed to the stark difference in vaccination rates between the two and the impact this has on the world.
Ms. Gopinath stressed the need for both manufacturers and developed countries – especially those that have committed to providing doses of vaccine to less fortunate countries – to prioritize those supplies.
“Vaccine inequality is tragic. We are at the end of 2021 with high-income countries having vaccinated 70% of the population and lower-income countries less than 4%. The goal is to vaccinate 40% of the population in each by the end of the year… 80 countries won’t get there. Mostly, that’s because they don’t have the right dose,” she said.
“For example, COVAX contracts with manufacturers … only 18% of doses are delivered. They do not prioritize delivery. The number of doses committed by high-income countries is 1.5 billion … only 300 million has been delivered. far,” Ms. Gopinath told NDTV.
The call to speed up vaccine sharing comes as the Omicron variant – which early studies show infects at a devastating rate 70 times faster than Delta, and is thought by many to be capable resistance to more current vaccines – threatening to derail the expected recovery of the global economy.
That recovery has been threatened by the renewal of travel and movement restrictions by several countries – including India and more developed nations – over fears of the Omicron variant.
The COVAX program is a global vaccine-sharing initiative launched by the United Nations and its partners to deliver doses to more than 90 low- and middle-income countries.
“We need to prioritize vaccine delivery. There is also a great need for booster doses (fueled by the spread of the more infectious and resistant variant of Omicron) … anxiety. that this could (again) affect supplies to low-income countries,” she said, calling on developed countries not to restrict exports of vaccines and medical equipment.
The COVAX program is set up to provide vaccines to 92 low- and middle-income countries, including several countries in Asia and some countries in Africa and Oceania whose governments will not. can purchase the required number of doses.
The Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa last month.
Although South Africa is not currently on the list of countries receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX program, neighboring countries such as Eswatini and Tanzania, which have reported Omicron cases, and from everywhere who come to India, are on the list.
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