More than 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in 107 countries and territories, and 45% of the doses were injected in the wealthy G7 countries (the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan), despite the fact that they house only 10% of the world’s population.
According to an AFP count from official sources, there were a total of 201,042,149 doses administered as of Saturday at 10:00 am GMT. But this number of injected vaccines is lower than the real one, as two major countries, Russia and China, have not communicated their official figures for ten days.
Better distribution
The G7 countries announced on Friday that they are committed to better distribution with poor countries by doubling their support for coronavirus vaccination, which will reach $ 7.5 billion, mainly through the Covax program, managed by the Organization World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to deliver adequate doses of vaccines to countries with fewer resources.
But currently, according to the World Bank classification, nine out of ten vaccines are injected in high or middle-income countries, and almost half (45%) in the G7.
In contrast, in the 29 “weak” income countries, only Guinea and Rwanda have started to vaccinate. About 1.84 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – live in countries that have not yet vaccinated.
The United States, Canada and European countries are responsible for more than 68 million of the 110 million infections in the world.
In terms of deaths, the United States exceeds 495,000, well ahead of the second country on the list, Brazil (more than 244,000 dead). Europe adds more than 825,000 deaths, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 655,000, according to data updated at 11:00 GMT this Saturday.
“No country will be safe until everyone is,” 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, emphasizes that defeating the virus in a “sustainable” way will depend on the entire planet. “. on availability and distribution of vaccines for all”.
Israel in the lead
Israel is by far the most advanced country in terms of vaccination, as 49% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Currently, one in three residents of that country (33%) has received the two necessary doses.
Other countries have exceeded more than 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 to February 9), the United Kingdom (17.5 million), India (10.7 million) and Israel (7.1 million). million).
The 27 countries of the European Union collect 26 million doses, administered to 3.8% of the population. Malta (9.2%) leads the way, while France, Germany or Spain are in the middle.
A dozen or so 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 is also vaccinating 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 of Bharat Biotech.
The vaccine against Sputnik V, 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. Sinovac’s, in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. The Chinese company CanSino was authorized in Mexico, but is not yet managed.
The Johnson & Johnson 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.