Some poor countries can’t cover the cost of administering the coronavirus vaccines when they finally receive them

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Some poor countries can’t cover the cost of administering the coronavirus vaccines when they finally receive them

Fri, 2021-04-02 09:36 — mike kraft

Coronavirus vaccines are finally reaching poor countries, but some can’t cover the cost of administering them Public health experts told The Post that many low-income countries are on track to face acute shortages of trained and salaried health-care workers in a few months, when Covax shipments increase. Miriam Berger Washington Post

Coronavirus vaccines have begun to trickle into some of the world’s poorest nations, in large part thanks to Covax, the World Health Organization-backed initiative to distribute vaccine doses equitably.

But once doses arrive on airport tarmacs, it is up to each country to finance distribution, including the salaries of health-care workers to administer the shots. In many cases, that funding isn’t readily available.

The flow of vaccine doses Covax has supplied so far, in the face of funding and supply shortfalls, remains relatively manageable. Countries in need can, in theory, apply for funding to support distribution from donors including the World Bank and United States.

The coronavirus is jeopardizing a ‘very, very finite’ workforce: Africa’s doctors and nurses

But public health experts told The Washington Post that many low-income countries are on track to face acute shortages of trained and salaried health-care workers in a few months, when Covax shipments increase.

“There is this misunderstanding that Covax vaccines are going to be sent to countries and then delivered to people’s communities,” said Ayoade Alakija, a co-chair of the African Union Africa vaccine delivery alliance. “Countries are receiving them at airports, and that’s where Covax’s responsibility ends.”

She also worried about how limited resources would be allocated. Many African countries have a “shockingly low number of health personnel per capita,” she said. “If we pull them all out to go and do vaccinations, then the rest of our health will suffer.” ...

ALSO SEE: Scaling Up Covid-19 Vaccination in Africa — Lessons from the HIV Pandemic

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