Country by country, which coronavirus vaccines are applied in the world

The international community is redoubling its efforts to increase its vaccination capacity against the coronavirus, which after nearly a year and a half of the pandemic has left more than 168 million infected and nearly three and a half million deaths worldwide. According to data provided by Johns Hopkins University, to date, over 1,735 million doses have been administered worldwide.

However, not all countries have the same criteria for choosing formulas to vaccinate their populations. China, for example, has been accused of conducting “vaccine diplomacy,” through which it offered vaccines to needy countries in exchange for geopolitical interests. Russia, meanwhile, has launched a savage disinformation campaign to discredit the formulas developed by the West. More specifically, by the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The most widely used formula in the world, with quite a big difference compared to others, is that developed by the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) and Swedish AstraZeneca laboratory. According to the site “Our World In Data”, to date, it is managed in 167 countries. This immunizer is attractive, among other factors, due to its low cost and ease of storage.

The corporate vaccine Pfizer (United States) and BioNTech (Germany) it was the first to be approved for use in the United States and Europe. With an efficacy against the coronavirus of 95%, it is the second most used in the world, with a presence in 103 countries.

Another North American formula is that of the laboratory Modern, which has been licensed in 49 countries such as Chinese Sinopharm-Beijing. It is followed by Russian Sputnik V, which is applied in 43 countries, while immunizers of Sinovac (China) Yes Johnson & Johnson (United States), are administered in 29 and 24 countries respectively.

Until the date, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has authorized vaccines developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen Pharmaceutica NV (Johnson & Johnson). Other formulas are at different stages of evaluation.

In this way, these immunizers are administered in the 27 countries of the European Union: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic , Slovakia, Romania and Sweden.

By May 30, the block aims to have 46% of the adult population on at least one dose.

In the UK, which is no longer part of the EU, the same tariffs apply, minus Johnson & Johnson.

With an efficiency of 85 to 90%, the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is used throughout most of Latin America, with a few exceptions such as Venezuela and Cuba. The regime of Nicolás Maduro only authorized the use of Russian Sputnik V, while the Cuban dictatorship uses its own formulas (Abdala and Soberana02) although it does not have enough scientific data on its safety and effectiveness. .

Instead, countries like Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Barbados and Bahamas, they use the British formula. In fact, Argentina and Mexico are jointly developing this immunizer.

Something similar is happening in Africa. Much of the continent applies the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine: Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Congo, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon and Nigeria, among others. South Africa, for its part, decided last February to suspend the application of this formula, because of its low effectiveness against the new variant of covid-19 originating in the country.

On the Asian continent, on the other hand, it is applied in South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Mongolia, among others. Countries like Australia and Canada, which have an advanced vaccination plan, have also authorized the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine.

In the case of Pfizer / BioNTech, in South America, only Argentina, Paraguay and Venezuela do not use it. In Africa, it is administered only in Libya and Sudan. The 27 countries of the European Union, the United States, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, also apply the North American laboratory formula and Germans.

The Johnson & Johnson formula, in addition to the United States and the European Union, is used in Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Libya and South Africa. Moderna, meanwhile, is administered in Canada, Congo, Curaçao, Faroe Islands, Finland, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Qatar, Rwanda, Jamaica. , Singapore and Libya, among others.

As can be seen on the map, vaccines developed by China have a predominant presence in Latin America, Africa and Asia. In South America, only Paraguay Venezuela does not use them. In the case of Europe, the EMA also did not allow Chinese formulas, but they apply in countries like Armenia, Bosnia, Hungary and Montenegro.

Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan and Laos are some of the Asian countries which have acquired formulas produced by the Beijing regime.

The Russian Sputnik V, meanwhile, has been licensed in countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Lebanon, Libya, Montenegro, Philippines, Serbia, Emirates. Arab Emirates, Iran and Syria, among others. As in the case of Chinese formulas, the European Union and the United States have not approved the use of the Russian immunizer.

India, a country which is suffering the devastating consequences of the coronavirus, vaccinates its population with the local Covaxin formula and with the Oxford / AstraZeneca formula.

However, as much of the international community progresses – at different paces – with its vaccination plan, there are still many countries where vaccines are needed. Most of the countries beyond the dose are in Africa, but there are also shortages in Oceania and the Caribbean.

In countries like Chad, Tanzania or Burkina Faso, for example, healthcare workers who fight on the front lines against covid-19 are not vaccinated. Burundi and Eritrea are in a similar situation.

Across the Atlantic, in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, the government recently refused to receive a dispatch from the COVAX mechanism – managed by the WHO – because it did not have an immunization plan and the necessary supplies to store the vaccines AstraZeneca at low temperature. Likewise, authorities have expressed concern that the population will reject the doses due to the cases of blood clots reported in Europe. But a few days ago, on May 19, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced the change of opinion of the executive.

The first doses also did not reach other islands in Oceania. But the outbreaks have been better controlled and it has been possible to isolate those infected, making the situation less urgent than, for example, in Africa.

In Vanuatu, with a population of 300,000, the first doses of British AstraZeneca are expected to arrive at the end of the month. But only three cases of coronavirus have been reported there, all in quarantine.

Considering the growing need of some countries and regions, The European Union (EU) announced last week that it plans to donate at least one hundred million doses of the coronavirus vaccine to poor countries at the end of the year.

The aim is “for vaccines to reach the whole world”, not only by exporting, but also by helping countries’ production capacity, said European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen.

In this line, the United States government will donate 80 million doses. Sixty million will come from the AstraZeneca formula, which has not been approved by the country’s health authorities, and the remaining 20 million from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Infographic: Marcelo Regalado

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