At the time of writing this blog post (June 23, 2021), Our World in Data reported that “22.2% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 2.8 billion doses have been administered globally, and 40.5 million are now administered each day. Only 0.9% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.”

COVID-19 swept the globe, leaving many countries clamoring to survive. We now look toward the vaccines for assistance in returning our lives to some level of normalcy. In this post, we will explore the issue of vaccination worldwide.

What Vaccines are Available?

To provide the world with immunity, several companies embarked on journeys to create a vaccine. Today, we now have a few COVID-19 vaccine options available. According to the CDC, the three authorized and recommended in the United States are Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen. There are other options, like the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, which is used in many other countries.

Europe

As of 2018, the European population was reported as 746.4 million. To date, 464 million people within the European continent have received at least one dose of vaccination. Throughout the fifty-one (51) European countries, they have been using Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, and the AstraZeneca vaccines to induce population immunity.

North America

The United States and Canada have vaccinated approximately 414 million residents, many of whom have received two doses. The US uses the three vaccines previously mentioned, while Canada uses all three and AstraZeneca. US President Joe Biden has a goal of having 70% of the US adult population at least partially vaccinated by July 4.

Africa

Our World in Data reports that, up to June 23, 2021, approximately 46 million people within the African continent received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of note, the African population stands at 1.216 billion as of 2016. These numbers suggest that vaccination efforts in African countries are not progressing as rapidly as they should. South Africa is the most affected country on the continent; however, its vaccination rate is only 2.7 per 100.

Asia

Asia is the world’s largest continent, with a population of 4.561 billion. Currently, its vaccination rate stands at 1.65 billion. Again, these statistics reveal a rather slow progression in the vaccination rollout efforts. China has been making strides in vaccinating its population and donating vaccines to other Asian countries. Asia also uses a variety of available vaccines.

South America & The Caribbean

163 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in South America. Vaccination initiatives are underway in the Caribbean as well, with countries like St. Kitts and Nevis having a 41% vaccination rate. Many Caribbean islands are lagging, some with less than a 5% vaccination rate.

Australia & New Zealand

Combined, both countries have vaccinated almost 8 million people. This is from a cumulative population of approximately 30 million. Again we see where vaccination rollout is quite slow. Reports suggest that these two countries are among many that suffered setbacks at the start of their vaccination process. Currently, they are administering the Pfizer BioNTech and the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines.

From these numbers, it is evident that there are challenges in the vaccination process. These issues include distribution disparities, financial setbacks, reluctant citizens, confusion in the rollout process, and shortage of vaccines. The countries of lower socioeconomic status are reported to have difficulties in affording the number of vaccines needed. While the higher-income countries can afford vaccines, they face other issues like reluctance. Additionally, the possible side effects reported by initial users cause concern. As such, it has led to the pause of vaccination in many countries, eventually causing a slower vaccination rate.

Notwithstanding, there has been a global reduction in COVID-19 cases due to vaccination; however, the variant strains of the virus are proving to be a challenge. There is so much happening across the globe concerning COVID-19 vaccination. This bit of information is only the basics, and we hope to explore more with you.

 References

‌Africa: COVID-19 vaccination rate by country 2021 | Statista. (2021). Statista; Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1221298/covid-19-vaccination-rate-in-african-countries/

‌Buchholz, K. (2021, June 23). Infographic: The COVID-19 Vaccination Race in Asia. Statista Infographics; Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/24463/vaccination-race-asia-coronavirus/

‌CDC. (2021, May 27). Different COVID-19 Vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines.html

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations - Statistics and Research. (2014). Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL

‌Safe COVID-19 vaccines for Europeans. (2021). European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans_en

‌White House Says The U.S. Will Narrowly Miss Its Vaccination Goal. (2021, June 22). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1009061023/white-house-says-the-u-s-will-narrowly-miss-its-vaccination-goal

By Kyrios Soter Scientific

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