WHO-approved vaccines
Covaxin is the 8th vaccine to be approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) after Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, CoviShield (AstraZeneca made in India), Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac and Sinopharm. It was an urgent step taken on November 3 to address a particular issue: facilitating access to vaccination for Southern countries and thus, reducing the gap with Northern countries. Its main asset is its storage method. Covaxin can be stored in a conventional fridge, unlike Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that require colder temperatures and a lot of logistics. According to the WHO, this vaccine is particularly appropriate for low and middle-income countries thanks to its easy storage methods.
Other vaccines are recognised by the WHO but are not validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). These are CovidShield, Sinovac, Sinopharm and Covaxin. Unapproved vaccines have become a serious issue since the reopening of borders around the world. For thousands of people who had already been vaccinated abroad, the question was how to obtain a health pass in their expat country, some of them, mostly in Europe, requiring a booster dose with a messenger RNA vaccine. Other countries, such as the United States, have made things easier by accepting all WHO-approved vaccines from the start.
Most of those who feel discriminated are from African countries. Having been immunised with CoviShield, they are not allowed to travel. The European Union (EU) believes that the booster jab is the answer to all questions regarding vaccine approval. But African countries do not seem to share the same views. For instance, in an interview in the French media in June, lawyer Papy Njosso asked why the Congolese population should accept the CoviShield vaccine when the EMA isn't ready to do so. He had even called for a boycott of the vaccine.
What about the Sputnik? No one wants it, not even the Russians. Launched in 2020, Sputnik was the first vaccine against Covid. But to date, only 42.6% of the population is fully vaccinated. Sputnik is still not recognised by the WHO and the EU. On December 14, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov considered the homologation once again and recognised that the WHO and Russia have a "different vision" due to lack of information. This is far from being reassuring for the international population or for Russians who have no other choice than to accept the Sputnik vaccine. But faced with the difficulty of obtaining approved vaccines, countries like Algeria, Bolivia, and Hungary and Slovakia decided to include Sputnik in the vaccination campaigns. This decision was not welcomed by the EU, and it seems like vaccination has become a new diplomatic weapon.
Could vaccine inequality be one of the causes of variants?
The UN and the WHO have been sensitising the international population on the importance of vaccination for many months. According to the IMF, vaccine inequality has harmful effects on the global economy. Last October, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, made particularly harsh remarks against rich countries, pinpointed for keeping vaccines to themselves. Faced with a new pandemic wave, Europe is pushing back deliveries of vaccines committed to African states. Germany has postponed until "January or February 2022" a delivery of vaccines initially scheduled for this month. For Guterres, this vaccine inequality "is the best ally of the Covid-19 pandemic". The WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reminds states of their duty of solidarity, not simply out of altruism, but for their own survival, because the situation is still critical. Vaccine inequality weighs down economies and affects social life. In May, the WHO urged states to immunise at least 40% of their populations by the end of the year. High-income countries were quicker. But middle and low-income countries found it hard due to shortage of vaccines, syringes, delivery issues, as well as political and economic tensions. Seychelles, Mauritius and Morocco are the only 3 African countries to have exceeded 40 % of complete vaccination (respectively 79.4, 72.3 and 62%). Cape Verde reached 45% on December 3. The other states are struggling to reach 10% or even 5% of vaccines. In October, based on a study by scientific firm Airfinity, UNICEF pointed out that “G20 countries received 15 times more doses of Covid-19 vaccines per capita than sub-Saharan Africa. Experts believe that the real problem is not the lack of vaccines but their poor distribution. In high-income countries, the booster dose rate already exceeds that of the first doses in developing countries. At the end of November, barely 7.15% of the African population had been fully vaccinated.
Is the health crisis a ground for social divide?
Things are definitely not like they used to be. Masks, sanitisers and social distancing have now become part of everyday life. Still, there are anti-health pass and anti-vaccine demonstrations all around the world, claiming to be true defenders of a certain freedom. Others are pinpointing expatriates who are perceived as people with privileges. Digital nomadism has definitely become more popular, but what about international travel and relocation? Are we heading to a world of closed borders? Still, others are advocating pragmatic free movement. For most countries, the message is clear: open borders, vaccines and barrier gestures. Everyone is expected to play the game.
Currently, Singapore, Japan and South Korea are far ahead in terms of vaccination (83.4, 80.9 and 78%, respectively). But they seem to treat their populations differently, depending on their origins. From 2020, Singapore stands out for its efficient vaccination campaign but forgets thousands of expatriates along the way, mostly migrant workers who are locked dormitories even if they are vaccinated. In Japan, while the Japanese were allowed to travel as flights resumed in 2020, foreign entrepreneurs were prohibited from leaving the country. They were warned that they might not be able to return. In South Korea, vaccinated expats were excluded from a whole part of social life. In fact, their foreign vaccines are not recognised. However, South Koreans vaccinated abroad have no problem getting their vaccine validated and getting their health pass (via the COOV app). Following protests from expats and pressure from American, British, Canadian, New Zealand and Indian Embassies, the Korean government promised to solve the problem by the end of the year.
According to scientists, we should expect even more new variants. Therefore, new resistance will potentially require the injection of booster doses, new rules for social life and travel, etc. So for expats and locals alike, 2022 looks like another challenging year.
