Oxfam Novib: Rich Countries Supply Far Fewer Vaccines Than Promised

According to Oxfam Novib, rich countries and pharmaceutical companies are supplying poorer countries with far fewer corona vaccines than was promised. So far, about 14 percent of promised doses have been delivered.

According to the Dutch organization for development cooperation, a member of the International People’s Vaccine Alliance, it is time for rich countries, including the Netherlands, to keep their promises.

“Developing countries have to make do with an endless stream of inadequate gestures and broken promises, coming from rich countries and pharmaceutical companies,” Oxfam Novib said in a report. “Of the 1.8 billion vaccines promised, only 261 million have been delivered.”

According to Oxfam Novib, the large pharmaceutical companies have delivered 12 percent of the promised doses. According to People’s Vaccine Alliance figures, Pfizer/BioNTech has delivered 40 percent of the 40 million vaccine commitments. On the other hand, AstraZeneca (200 million) and Moderna (30 million) have not yet donated anything to Covax.

In the opinion of Oxfam Novib, a solution is to temporarily release the patents on the vaccines so that the drugs can be made everywhere for a low price. “Because we are only safe from corona if everyone in the world is safe.”