Ultimately, everyone must fend for himself during COVID

There seems to be a slowdown in the worldwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19 after the initial rush in the United States and certain other countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) organized COVAX to provide initial vaccine doses to countries with little or no hope of getting them from the manufacturing countries which are now delivering orders made early last year, even while the vaccines were being tested.

This has been an unusual and difficult market. The vaccines we are buying have not completed the five years testing period. So all of them have been granted only Emergency Use Authorizations. But the emerging scenario is such and the need for action is so urgent that the whole world is now using these emergency meds.

But even these not fully tested vaccines are in short supply. The US was able to corner huge amounts of the US-made Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Britain and Europe were able to stockpile on the UK’s AstraZeneca.