The world is being held hostage by a cycle of panic and neglect. The Omicron variant has sparked a panic while we wait for clarification. As rich nations accumulate enough surplus vaccines to inoculate their entire populations many times over, low-income countries just a small percentage have received even a single dose.
There are still plenty of unused doses in the warehouses of western nations. There is no need to choose between vaccinating low-income countries or offering boosters in wealthy nations. The G7 and EU will have a surplus of over one billion doses by the end of March 2022, according to an analysis by Airfinity. It is bordering on criminal that these are not being flown to countries in need.
In June the G7 summit in Cornwall pledged 1 billion doses, which was far less than needed and still undelivered six months later.
Britain has a lot of responsibility. The prime minister went from urging other G7 leaders to "vaccinate the world" in Cornwall to delivering a lower proportion of promised doses than any of them.
Government and corporate leaders, including Johnson, are trying to shelter a dangerous lie: that the main factor driving low vaccination rates isn't one of supply, but hesitancy. Johnson said last week that the problem with the spread of Omicron was in countries where there wasn't enough take-up for the vaccine. South Africa has been a victim of unpredictable supply, along with excessively burdensome manufacturer negotiations, and only recently reached adequate vaccine numbers. Most African countries have a problem with their health workers being protected.
Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to the World Health Organization, told the Today programme on Friday that dose deliveries are often not delivered on time. He said that distributing these doses would be a challenge for any country.
There will be a shortage of between 1 billion and 2 billion needles next year, according to the WHO. The White House warned that the US donation of Pfizer doses requires specialized needles that are in short supply, which means many could still be in warehouses. Between 18 and 25 countries are struggling to distribute vaccine doses, according to the chief executive of the vaccine alliance.
The emergence of Omicron makes it clear that the failure to share vaccines amounts to a choice to roll the dice again and again on different variations. Vaccines reduce the number of host bodies that are available for further mutations. Gordon Brown wrote in the Guardian that they were warned and are here.
Failing to vaccine the world leaves the possibility of more new variants emerging and spreading through the unvaccinated and possibly the vaccine as well. As billions were wiped off share prices as soon as news of Omicron broke, it was clear that the vaccine industry in the west didn't make economic sense.
It didn't have to be this way. By the end of the year, around 12 billion doses are expected to be produced. If a principle of vaccine equity had been in place, it could have been possible for every adult in the world to get the vaccine.
If we are fortunate enough to be offered a booster, those of us in the west should take it. I will be getting my third shot before many healthcare workers in the developing world get theirs. That is wrong. We must find a way to care about both boosters and the primary doses at the same time, before we create a catastrophe.
At Tortoise Media, there is a reporter named Lara Spirit.
