half the population of poor countries has now received two doses of the vaccine, according to the international alliance Gavi

Vaccination coverage in poor countries has reached 50%, the international alliance Gavi announced Thursday, August 18, welcoming the progress made in overcoming inequalities in access to vaccination. Although inequalities remain, “Low-income countries have made remarkable progress”reaching a “decisive threshold in coverage” vaccine against Covid-19, underlined the Gavi alliance in a press release.

In the 92 low-income countries that have received donor-funded vaccines, vaccination coverage has averaged 50%, said the Gavi alliance, which co-leads with the World Health Organization (WHO) and d other institutions the international Covax system, which aims to ensure equitable availability worldwide of vaccines and treatments against Covid 19.

Spectacular progress has been made since the start of 2022: at that time, only 31% of the inhabitants of these 92 countries had received their first two doses. Previously, vaccination coverage in 34 of these countries was less than 10%, which is now the case in only ten countries, said Gavi.

The international alliance and the WHO have long deplored the lack of solidarity regarding access to vaccination against Covid-19. Unequal access to vaccines “is the best ally of the Covid-19 pandemic, had lamented earlier in the year the secretary general of the UN Antonio Guterres. It allows variants to grow freely, dooming the world to millions more deaths and prolonging the economic downturn.”. Since the first Covid-19 vaccines became available, Covax has delivered more than 1.4 billion doses to low-income countries worldwide.