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COVID-19 triggered a crisis in 2021. Will 2022 be the same?

The coronavirus will come back to haunt every country without a push to get the whole world vaccinated in 2022.

Daniel Tjen (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Mon, January 3, 2022

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COVID-19 triggered a crisis in 2021. Will 2022 be the same? One shot counts: A little girl receives a Sinovac vaccine jab at Sumatera Utara University Hospital in Medan on Dec. 30, 2021. The government is intensifying vaccination for children aged 6-11 years old against COVID-19. (Antara/Fransisco Carolio)

W

hen it came to global health in 2021, the science delivered but solidarity did not. After another tumultuous year, what will 2022 and beyond be like for global health preparedness?

While no country is out of the woods with regard to the pandemic, one thing is worth remembering as we look toward 2022: 2021 witnessed a truly historic achievement in global health. The world successfully developed new tools to prevent COVID-19, with nine vaccines being listed by the World Health Organization for emergency use at record pace.

The pandemic was actually worse in 2021 than it was the year before. In December 2020, COVID-19’s confirmed global death toll hit 1.5 million. Just one year later, that number exceeded 5 million.

Coronavirus will come back to haunt every country without a push to get the whole world vaccinated in 2022. So far the world has delivered 9 billion vaccines, but they have been distributed unequally.

It is a global injustice, and the most vulnerable people remain the most at risk. The World Health Organization says 98 countries have not yet met the target of vaccinating 40 percent of their populations. Only one in four healthcare workers in Africa have been fully vaccinated despite serving on the pandemic front lines.

Solidarity itself is in crisis mode. The uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccine is one of the greatest policy failures of our times. Narrow nationalism, vaccine hoarding and stockpiling vaccines by wealthier countries have undermined equity. Technology transfers that could rapidly scale up vaccine production are being stalled by some powerful countries and giant pharmaceutical companies.

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Humanitarian operations (COVAX, UNICEF, CEPI, GAVI) continue to go underfunded, leading to devastating health consequences for children and women. In many parts of the world women lack access to safe, affordable, high quality care when delivering their babies, and children are deprived of nutrition, basic vaccines and a clean environment to grow up in.

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