What is COVAX and is it helping poor countries get access to COVID-19 vaccines?

What is COVAX and is it helping poor countries get access to COVID-19 vaccines?

It's a stark warning about the future of the pandemic: that without global access to lifesaving vaccines, COVID-19 is here to stay.

The virus has travelled to every continent and infected more than 100 million people globally in just over a year since it was first declared a global health emergency.

Humanitarian activists and experts are raising the alarm about the wide gaps in vaccine distribution between the world's richest and poorest countries.

They have criticised rich countries for buying up COVID-19 vaccine doses as poor countries are left without vaccines in a trend that has continued months after doses first have become available.

"Very rapidly the discrepancy between countries is going to become very important and our main concern is that [rich countries] start vaccinating lower risk groups quite quickly starting from May while on the other side of the world, we are still not able to fully vaccinate health care workers," said Alain Alsalhani, a vaccines pharmacist with the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Access Campaign.

A study commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce estimated that the global economy would lose $9.2 trillion (€7.6 trillion) if governments fail to ensure developing countries have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Low-income countries are thus relying on the