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And it is not only vaccine equity which will help to end this pandemic, the world also needs to scale up equitable access to testing and sequencing, as well as diagnostics and therapeutics. [2]
By forcing billions of people in low income countries to wait to get vaccinated the world’s richest nations are allowing COVID to continue to circulate. And when COVID circulates it mutates into new variants like Omicron [3]. This forces every country in the world - even those with successful vaccine rollout programmes - back into a dangerous cycle of high infection rates, as well as social restrictions that disrupt people’s lives, work, education and national and international economies [4].
Meanwhile, in low income countries, people’s lives continue to be put at greater risk than those fortunate to live in high income ones.
High-income countries continue to order more doses than they need - using up supply that could be going to the COVAX programme and distributed to places that desperately need them. Some countries continue to donate vaccine doses that are close to their expiry dates, and some continue to ban exports of the vaccines to those in need [5].
Unless the world hears this message, vaccine inequality will continue. We must speak up - share the message on your social media platforms today.
Team Verified
Sources:
[1] UN News
[2] World Health Organization
[3] World Health Organization
[4] World Bank
[5] World Health Organization
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