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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Monday, May 3, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.9 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 718 million Low-income country total: 270 million COVAX total: 1.62 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 9.1 billion doses INSIGHTS Can the TRIPS waiver save the world? Author: Andrea Taylor The US threw its weight into the ring on the side of the TRIPS waiver this week, surprising many. There is still a long road ahead for the waiver, which much be agreed through discussion and consensus. With vocal opponents (including Germany), this is unlikely to happen before December. But if it does go through and intellectual property (IP) protections are waived, will it make a difference? The short answer is maybe, but not this year. The TRIPS waiver…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE FRIDAY, April 2, 2021 Data Updates High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 691 million Low-income country total: 670 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 8.6 billion doses Weekly Insights and Interesting Trends The curious case of upper-middle income countries Author: Andrea Taylor The global imbalance in Covid-19 vaccines is often framed in terms of wealthy versus poor countries. While it can be summed that way (wealthy countries do have the majority of doses, while low-income countries have almost none), this overlooks the experience of upper-middle income countries (UMICs), such as Brazil, Indonesia, and China. The challenges faced by UMICs are different than those faced by lower-middle and low-income countries. They…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021 Data Updates Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines:  8.5 billion doses  High-income countries: 4.6 billion doses Upper-middle-income countries: 1.5 billion doses Lower-middle-income countries: 614 million Low-income countries: 670 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion  Weekly Insights and Interesting Trends Author: Andrea Taylor What is going on with Canada?  Canada followed the same vaccine procurement playbook as its wealthy peers, making early advance market purchases across a broad range of Covid-19 vaccine candidates. Between August and October 2020, Canada purchased doses from Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen (J&J), Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, and Medicago (a domestic company). In January, they added Novavax. With 500% coverage in confirmed purchases (going up to 600% when optioned doses are included), Canada defines the top of our population coverage graph.   But as we have seen over the past few months, vaccine purchases, vaccine deliveries, and vaccinations do not always track…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 Data Updates High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.3 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 597 million Low-income country total: 670 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 8.2 billion doses Weekly Insights and Interesting Trends Author: Andrea Taylor Today, we celebrate: This week’s good news for global equity There were two significant developments this week that are great news for Covid-19 vaccine equity. To be clear, the picture is still bleak: rich countries hold more than half of the vaccine purchased and don’t want to share until they’ve had their fill. More than 100 countries have not administered their first vaccinations, even while coverage passed 90% in Israel, 60% in the UAE, and…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021 Data Updates High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.3 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 631 million Low-income country total: 671 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 8.25 billion doses Weekly Insights and Interesting Trends Author: Andrea Taylor Rhetoric first, action later: the G7 approach to global equity The G7 countries met (virtually) on Friday, February 19, to share variants of “no one is safe until everyone is safe” and discuss the importance of global equity of Covid-19 vaccines and the need for international cooperation. (Sound familiar? That’s because we heard the same things from the G20 in November.) The countries together pledged another $7.5 billion in funding for COVAX (including the $4 billion that the US Congress set aside for…