Fears over rich countries wasting 240m Covid vaccines by end of March – The National

Fears over rich countries wasting 240m Covid vaccines by end of March – The National

More than 240 million coronavirus vaccines bought by rich countries could go to waste by the end of March, raising fresh concerns about unequal access to the shots.

The estimate by data company Airfinity covers vaccines which were bought by G7 or European Union countries but are still sitting in cold storage as their expiry date looms.

More than 90 per cent of people in low-income countries have yet to receive a first vaccine dose despite efforts to distribute shots across the developing world. Health officials and charities blame this in part for creating the perfect conditions for new variants to arise.