How many COVID-19 vaccines has the UK actually given to the poorest countries?
Posted 9 hours ago Proposed by Global citizen  Boris Johnson photo credit: Northern Ireland Office, Flickr  Why the citizens of the world should care  The United Nations 17 global goals set a roadmap to end extreme poverty by 2030. But the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly undermined progress in achieving these goals. The fastest way to end the pandemic and ensure the world gets back on track is to ensure that all countries have access to vaccines and a chance to recover, a process that is thwarted by the rich countries which accumulate vaccines. To learn more about vaccine equity and take action, join ushere. Global citizen  In Britain 65 million jabs were given in total, meaning 59% received a first dose. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that while 1 in 4 people in rich countries have received at least one vaccine, for poor countries that number is closer to 1 in 500. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is certainly talking about a good game: in February hepromisedto G7 leaders that the UK would share each of its surplus vaccines with the poorest countries. But four months later, not a single vaccine has been shared. The official governmentlineis that while the UK continues to vaccinate its adult population, it has no surplus vaccines. But UNICEF said it can start sharing vaccines immediately and stay on track to immunize every adult by the end of July. In fact, the UK could fully immunize 50 million people right now more than double the number of unvaccinated health workers in vulnerable countries without leaving any adults in the UK short,according to UNICEF. It is still unclear whether the UK intends to donate its surplus vaccines or sell them. It comes as Sir Jeremy Farrar, one of the UKs top scientists at the head of the Wellcome Trust, has teamed up with Steven Waugh, executive director of UNICEF UK, to directly call on Johnson to immediately share 20% UK surplus vaccines. In an open letterpublishedThe couple on Friday highlighted Johnsons promise in February and urged him to show historic leadership ahead of the UKs G7 summit in Cornwall next week. The truth is the UK cannot afford not to share its vaccines, says letterbedThe world will not be safe while one country is still fighting the virus. Failure to act now risks reversing our hard-earned progress. The UK missed another big opportunity to come forward and share vaccines on Wednesday. There was a global summit, hosted by Japan, calling on world leaders to do more to share vaccines with COVAX, a facility set up by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, l Vaccine Alliance, to get vaccines to the poorest countries in the world. It was called Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment Summit. But while Japan, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Swedenpledged to share vaccine doses, the UK has made no commitments. Although the UK has already provided financial support to COVAX by offering250 millionfrom its aid budget earlier in the year, that means the total number of vaccines the UK has shared to meet urgent short-term needs has hit a big zero. In total, the UK has ordered500 million vaccines, from seven different manufacturers, only four of which are currently approved by regulators. Thats enough to vaccinate its population of 66 million people more than seven times. But as organizations and experts across the country have urged vaccines to beshared immediately, the world is still waiting. After 127,782 deaths in the UK, the daily death rate is at an all time high, symbolic of a turning point at last after a year when the National Health Service (NHS) nearly collapsed under unprecedented pressure, then stepped up to deliver the worlds largest vaccine campaign. in its history. But while it should be celebrated, it is a far cry from the reality facing much of the rest of the world. Until countries like Britain share what they have, the pandemic will continue. There will be more cases of COVID-19, more health systems unable to cope with the pressure, more variants of the virus, and more chances of a mutation finding a way around vaccines. Thats why Johnson cant waste a moment.Help us call on him to keep his promise and make an emergency donation of UK surplus vaccines here.