COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Inequities

Paris Grubbs
Apr 3, 2022
2 min read

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of fear and hardships on many individuals in this world. We as individuals went from living a normal everyday life to wearing face masks and living in solitude, afraid to touch anything or interact with anyone. In the past year, the situation has slowly but surely been improving, thanks to the efforts of scientists around the world creating vaccines to help combat the Covid-19 virus. The most notable vaccines are Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson. These vaccines were advertised and distributed all around the United States to help reduce the death toll and get individuals to live in a world of normalcy. But what about other countries around the world?

According to researchers, “at least 65.7% of the world's population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine” (Bhatia, 2022). There are many countries, such as the Philippines and Nicaragua, who are administering vaccines at a fast rate. Yet, it's generally the more developed countries with solid infrastructures that have the ability to acquire and distribute doses to their citizens. Researchers also indicated, “About 26% of people who have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine were from high income countries, and at least 22% were from Europe and North America” (Bhatia, 2022). Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, and Chile had a higher advantage which led to these countries having the majority of their citizens vaccinated. As of now, since vaccines are considered to be limited, countries are prioritizing older or immunocompromised individuals over others to prevent the death tolls from increasing. In addition to this, there are still plans to work out in order to correct certain inequities and distribute these vaccines to the people who need them the most. But, so far nothing has been set in stone.