Placing profits above people when it comes to COVID vaccination has led to an estimated 1.3 million deaths globally and nearly 300 million additional infections. According to new research in the journal Nature Medicine, rich countries that hoarded vaccines — in many cases, even trashing them — have not only contributed to otherwise preventable deaths but also helped prolong the pandemic and spur the emergence of mutated variants that continue to plague the public.
Using a mathematical model crunching data from 152 different countries, epidemiologists from the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK, charted differences in COVID vaccine distribution from the start of the pandemic to the end of 2021. They found that vaccine access varied drastically. Some countries gained over 90% vaccination in adults (meaning two shots or more), while some had coverage as low as 0.9%, with a country's level of wealth playing a key role in this discrepancy.
