Vaccinate the World before Starting COVID Booster Shots

Earlier the World Health Organization set a goal of having at least 10 percent of every country‘s population vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of  this month. It aimed to then raise that figure to 40 percent by the end of the year and to 70 percent by the middle of 2022.

Sadly, these targets have little chance of being met. Of the more than 5.8 billion doses of COVID vaccines that have been administered across the world by mid-September, the vast majority (about 80 percent) have gone to people living in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Fewer than 0.5 percent of doses have gone to people in low-income countries.

This enormous disparity exists because the bulk of currently available vaccine supplies have been bought up by a few countries rather than being shared equitably through global mechanisms such as COVAX, which develops and distributes COVID vaccines to countries that need them. (COVAX was organized by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF.)

The richest countries in the world—those belonging to the G20—have failed to commit to equitable distribution of this global public health good, instead choosing to prioritize booster doses for those in their countries who are already fully vaccinated. Here, we must distinguish between a third shot of a two-dose vaccine for some and a booster shot for all. A third shot should be given to people who are immunocompromised—such as transplant recipients, who do not have enough antibodies to protect them.