A child rights organization expressed concern on the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines in high-income countries, noting that this threatens to disrupt fair access to vaccines for all.

Save the Children said that even as some of the first wave of vaccines are currently being reserved for all countries, the governments of richer countries should not “hoard the limited initial supply” of available vaccines. Instead, these countries must ensure distribution based on needs and not on wealth.

“Countries who can afford life-saving vaccines should not have access over countries who cannot – one life is not worth more than another,” said Save the Children Global Director for Health and Nutrition Kathryn Bolles.

Bolles noted that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to infect hundreds of thousands of people every day, claiming more than 1.6 million lives so far across the globe. 

“That means children are losing their parents, family members, teachers, and health care workers, which is deeply impacting their lives and the lives of their families,” she said. “The economies they live in are hard hit, pushing them into poverty. It’s unfair that some poorer countries must wait months or possibly longer for the vaccine,” she added.

When the COVID-19 outbreak started, Bolles said that there were global commitments that people in lower and middle income countries should have equal access to any vaccine -- but “it seems that notion has shifted”

Bolles said that wealthier governments should not choose nationalism but instead uphold the spirit of equitable global access, including supporting COVAX to urgently provide support to ensure people around the world are vaccinated. As thousands of people continue to die every day from COVID-19, and hundreds of thousands more are infected, time is of the essence, she added.

“Governments must commit to expanding the supply, access and availability of vaccines, and all involved need to support the sharing of COVID-19 data and technology by committing to C-TAP, the COVID-19 technology access pool,” Bolles said. “Investment and collaboration with vaccine manufacturers in developing countries should also be prioritized to unleash supply to local and regional populations."

Bolles noted that while it is understandable that it will be difficult to ensure equal access to the initial supply of vaccines, but “governments must do what they can to make sure it’s as fair as possible and not further accelerate the huge global inequities we face today.”

The COVID-19 pandemic, Bolles said, has stressed that “our own protection is rooted in the protection of others - no one safe until everyone is safe.”