A study conducted by the Duke University of the United States asserts the huge gap in terms of purchasing Covid-19 vaccines between developed countries and the developing ones. Rich countries have purchased stocks of doses that are enough to cover their population multiple times for vaccination. While countries with lower and middle income do not have the buying capacity to even vaccinate everyone at once.
India has purchased the maximum amount of Covid-19 vaccine in the world which is 1.6 billion doses yet the country would be able to cover only 59 per cent of its population.
The data indicates that once Covid-19 vaccines will enter the market, most of the amount will go to the countries with high income. Lower and middle-income countries and equity-focused partnerships like COVAX will not have enough to meet their targets.
India has topped in terms of buying the maximum doses that counts 1.6 billion, European Union claims the second spot with 1.36 billion doses from six different firms. Next place if claimed by the United States that has bought 1.1 billion doses which are followed by COVAX (vaccine alliance) and then comes Canada and United Kingdom.
However, in terms of population, countries like Canada will be able to vaccinate their population more than five times.
As per the study, Canada has purchased enough vaccines to vaccinate 601 per cent of its population, the United States 443 per cent, United Kingdom 418 per cent, Australia 266 per cent and the European Union 244 per cent.
The developing nations, India will have vaccines for only 59 per cent of the population, Mexico 84 per cent, Brazil 46 per cent and Kazakhstan 15 per cent. The Philippines takes the bottom stage of the list with having vaccines for only 1 per cent population of the country.
