It has been nearly a year since the COVID-19 vaccine was first administered and distributed to various hospitals. What began as a hopeless pandemic now has an end in sight. Although nobody expects the virus to go away completely, the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine has given hope that those infected with the virus will have mild symptoms, and hospitalizations and deaths will be a rare occurrence.
The vaccine began with a slow rollout, as it was first administered to healthcare workers and other essential employees. It next became available to those 65 or older or individuals with preexisting health concerns. Over time, it continued to be offered to those in lower age ranges, most recently becoming authorized to be given to all those five years and older. Nowadays, almost everybody who wishes to get a vaccine is able to receive one, at least in the United States and many other countries.
Which Countries Have Been Given the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Thus far, 200 countries have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine. While it would take a while to list all of these countries, some of them include Mainland China, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and more. So far, Mainland China has given out the most amount of doses, which is no surprise considering the large population the country has to start with. However, it is encouraging to see vaccination rates steadily growing in other countries.
Do Some Countries Have an Advantage?
It would be ignorant to disregard the apparent inequities with the rollout of the vaccine. Just as there is inequity in various other aspects of life, it also sadly exists within the healthcare system. Even with the vaccine being of free access to many, it has still existed within the realm of inequality. For instance, more developed countries with cemented healthcare systems were some of the first to gain access to and administer the vaccine to the public. In the meantime, many lesser-developed countries were still suffering from high infection rates and hospitalizations as they awaited access to the vaccine or took time to develop a system of administering doses.
While much of the world is dreaming of returning to normalcy rather quickly, the world’s poorest countries are still suffering in some major ways. Vaccination rates may be encouraging in more developed countries, but low-income countries have only seen about 1% of their population receive at least one dose. Government leaders have come together to pledge to donate vaccines to these low-income countries, but it may take until 2023 for vaccines to reach these countries or to catch them up to speed with the rates we see more developed countries at as of the end of 2021.