## The Journey of the Covid-19 Vaccine

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [The Journey of the Covid-19 Vaccine](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/12/journey-covid-19-vaccine-stanley)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/12/journey-covid-19-vaccine-stanley/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/12/journey-covid-19-vaccine-stanley/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/12/journey-covid-19-vaccine-stanley/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: ANDREW STANLEY
- Published: December 3, 2021

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### Overview and context
- The development of COVID-19 vaccines is described as "miraculous" but the global inoculation effort "presents many obstacles."
- Historical contrast:
  - 1882: Dr. Robert Koch discovered the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB).
  - 1921: A TB vaccine was developed; it "offers only moderate protection against severe TB in infants and young children" and "No vaccine effectively prevents TB in adults."
  - TB currently "claims 1.5 million lives a year."
- COVID-19 timeline in the text:
  - COVID-19 was identified in January, 2020.
  - By December 2 of that year a vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer was approved for emergency use in the United States.
- Exceptional public financing and regulatory support for COVID-19 vaccine research, development, testing, and manufacturing are credited as a "game changer."

### Progress on global vaccination and key numeric targets
- Global vaccination targets cited:
  - "40 percent in every country by the end of 2021"
  - "70 percent by mid-2022"
- Aggregate-level progress:
  - "Total vaccination rates have risen and continue to rise rapidly."
  - "Most advanced economies have contracted more than enough vaccines to cover their entire population."
  - "Many developing countries have managed to do the same directly or indirectly through vehicles like COVAX."

### Delivery shortfalls and inequities (data-driven concerns)
- Disconnect between contracted/pledged doses and doses actually received:
  - COVAX: "contracted and received donation pledges for over 3 billion doses, but only about 440 million of those have been received so far."
- Resulting inequities in administered doses:
  - High-income countries: vaccination rates "exceeding 65 percent"
  - Many low-income countries: vaccination rates "barely top 3 percent"
- Subnational distribution issues:
  - Data reveal "uneven distribution of vaccine coverage" within countries.
  - In some advanced economies, once short-term supply challenges are addressed, "demand and vaccine hesitancy may become the next big obstacle for developing countries."

### Policy implications and recommendations (implicit in text)
- Immediate action urged:
  - The IMF is "urging immediate action to prioritize deliveries to those developing economies with low vaccination rates."
- Priorities implied by the narrative:
  - Close the gap between doses secured on paper and doses delivered at port.
  - Prioritize vaccine deliveries to developing economies with low vaccination rates.
  - Address subnational inequities in coverage.
  - Anticipate and plan for demand-side obstacles such as vaccine hesitancy after supply constraints ease.

*Andrew Stanley, F&D Magazine, December 2021*

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## Content in this bundle

- **تأمل معي - رحــــــــلة لقاح كوفيد-19**
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  - [تأمل معي - رحــــــــلة لقاح كوفيد-19 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/ar/picture.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Del dicho al hecho**
  - [Del dicho al hecho (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/es/picture.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Del dicho al hecho (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/es/picture.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Le voyage du vaccin contre la COVID-19**
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  - [Le voyage du vaccin contre la COVID-19 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/fr/picture.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **The Journey of the COVID-19 Vaccine**
  - [The Journey of the COVID-19 Vaccine (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/picture-this-covid-19.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [The Journey of the COVID-19 Vaccine (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/picture-this-covid-19.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **От лаборатории до прививки**
  - [От лаборатории до прививки (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/ru/picture.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [От лаборатории до прививки (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/ru/picture.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **新冠疫苗的抗疫征程 ●《金融与发展》● 2021年12月号**
  - [新冠疫苗的抗疫征程 ●《金融与发展》● 2021年12月号 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/zh/picture.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [新冠疫苗的抗疫征程 ●《金融与发展》● 2021年12月号 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/december/zh/picture.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/12/journey-covid-19-vaccine-stanley_