Five billion jabs given globally but vaccine access differs widely

PARIS • More than five billion anti-Covid-19 jabs have been given globally, but wide disparities persist between rich and poor countries in their access to vaccines.

While the most advanced countries are already giving booster shots, vaccination drives are not getting off the ground in poorer, mainly African, countries.

At least 5.006 billion jabs have been injected into people's arms around the world, according to an Agence France-Presse tally of official sources yesterday.

On average around the world, 64 first, second or sometimes even third doses have been injected per 100 inhabitants.

The worldwide inoculation drive has reached cruising speed.

While it took around 140 days to get the first billion shots into people's arms, the third, fourth and fifth billions each took between 26 and 30 days, the data shows.

Nearly 40 per cent (1.96 billion) of the five billion shots have been administered in China. India (589 million) and the United States (363 million) complete the trio of countries that have given the most jabs.

On the flip side, three countries have yet to start their vaccination drives: Burundi, Eritrea and North Korea.

In terms of population protected - among countries with more than one million people - the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the leader. It has administered 179 doses per 100 inhabitants, meaning it has fully vaccinated nearly 75 per cent of its population.

Uruguay follows, with 154 per 100 inhabitants, Israel and Qatar (149 each), Singapore (147), Bahrain (144), Denmark (143), Chile (140), Canada (139), Portugal and Belgium (138 each), China (136), Spain (134), Ireland (133) and Britain (132).

Most of these countries have fully vaccinated between 65 per cent and 70 per cent of their populations.

Some, like the UAE, Bahrain, Israel, Uruguay and Chile have even started giving out booster shots to prolong the immunity of those fully vaccinated.

France, which will start giving booster shots from next month, is not far behind, with 126 doses injected per 100 people and 62 percent of the population completely vaccinated.

It has bypassed the US, which has given 110 doses per 100 inhabitants, with 52 per cent completely vaccinated, and was previously at the top of the game.

While countries in Western Europe, North America and parts of the Middle East have advanced vaccination campaigns, they are inoculating less quickly than countries in Asia, Latin America and Oceania, which have picked up speed.

Over the past week, Ecuador vaccinated the most quickly, giving shots to 1.69 per cent of its population every day, followed by Panama (1.62 per cent), South Korea and Malaysia (1.54 per cent each).

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE