Despite representing 13 per cent of the global population, wealthy nations have already secured the lion's share of coronavirus vaccines.
Wealthy nations representing a fraction of the global population - including Australia - have already bought up over half the promised COVID-19 vaccine stocks, an Oxfam study showed, as health and finance ministers of G20 countries meet to discuss the global pandemic.
"Access to a life-saving vaccine shouldn't depend on where you live or how much money you have," Oxfam America's Robert Silverman said. The five leading vaccine candidates currently in late-stage trials will be able to supply 5.9 billion doses, enough to inoculate about three billion people, the Oxfam report said.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would begin rolling out a vaccine in America as soon as next month, contradicting doubts expressed by a top health expert in his administration who said a jab was unlikely to be widely available until mid-2021. The global economy has been devastated by the pandemic, with many nations still maintaining restrictions on their populations to contain fresh outbreaks.
There were also positive signs in South Africa where authorities announced borders would be reopened to most countries from next month - part of a wider easing of anti-virus curbs as infection figures improve. This would only be possible if pharmaceutical corporations allow vaccines to be produced as widely as possibly by freely sharing their knowledge free of patents.
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