According to the research, inequity will have a 'lasting and profound impact' on socio-economic recovery in low and lower-middle income countries unless there is urgent action to make vaccines affordable and accessible to everyone.
With the current cost of vaccines calculated at an average US$15.80, and without immediate global financial support, low-income countries are forecast to see health costs soar by more than half, to vaccinate fully a target of 70% of their populations. But high-income countries would have to increase spending by just 0.8 percent to achieve the same results. This would account for half of low-income countries' projected GDP growth in 2021, against 0.2% for high-income countries.
These insights come from the Global Dashboard on Vaccine Equity , a joint initiative from UNDP, WHO and Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, which combines the latest COVID-19 vaccination information with the most recent socio-economic data. It illustrates why vaccine equity is not only critical to saving lives but also to driving a fairer and faster recovery from the pandemic.