Access to and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in low-income countries

• Published in: npj vaccines Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 54 - 3
• Main Authors: Acharya, Krishna Prasad, Ghimire, Tirth Raj, Subramanya, Supram Hosuru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14-04-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/250; 631/250/2152; 692/700/478/174; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Comment; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 vaccines; Developing countries; Equity; Health disparities; Infectious Diseases; LDCs; Low income groups; Medical Microbiology; Public Health; Vaccine; Virology
• ISSN: 2059-0105; 2059-0105
• DOI: 10.1038/s41541-021-00323-6

The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 still poses significant health challenges globally. The Harvard group’s models predict that a resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 could occur as late as 2024 after a period of apparent elimination, if the duration of immunity is intermediate and if other corona viruses induce intermediate cross-immunity1. Among more than 60 vaccine candidates in clinical trials, currently, only the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna COVID-19, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)2,3,4. The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has additionally received approval in the European countries, India, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, Nepal, and others5. For emergency use, other vaccines like Sputnik V, BBIBP-CorV, CoronaVac, Ad5-nCoV, EpiVacCorona, and BBV152 have been approved in many countries in the world6. The approval of the vaccines has created some degree of confidence, and many countries have begun administering them. However, the accessibility of the vaccines to low-income countries (LICs) may be hindered, and thus, many concerned authorities have been questioned. It is because most of the vaccines have been reported to be reserved by wealthy nations6,7. These issues are extensively reviewed by the Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics Task Force Members8.