Story at a glance
- “We’ve about 28 million vaccine doses that have been administered so far. Five different vaccines or platforms have been used,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said.
- “Forty-six countries, approximately, are now vaccinating. But only one of those countries is a low-income country,” he said.
- Ryan called upon wealthy countries to help bridge the vaccination inequity gap.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said that about 28 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in the fight against COVID-19 as the virus continues to ravage many parts of the world.
During a virtual Q&A Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the vaccinations had largely occurred in the wealthiest countries.
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“We’ve about 28 million vaccine doses that have been administered so far. Five different vaccines or platforms have been used,” Ryan said.
“Forty-six countries, approximately, are now vaccinating. But only one of those countries is a low-income country,” he said.
Ryan called upon wealthy countries to help bridge the vaccination inequity gap.
“We really have to look at this in terms of equity,” he said.
“There are populations out there who want and who need vaccines who are not going to get them unless or until we begin to share better,” the health official noted.
The global vaccination figure shared by the WHO official comes as more than 10 million people in the U.S. have received their first coronavirus shots with nearly 30 million doses distributed to states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
The U.S. is still lagging far behind its target vaccination rate — officials estimated last year 20 million doses would be distributed before January — but health officials on Tuesday rolled out a host of changes intended to speed up the rate of inoculations to make vaccines more broadly available.
Federal officials are now advising states to expand vaccinations to everyone age 65 and older and all adults with comorbidities that put them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
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