Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is extremely helpful in preventing severe COVID-19, but it’s hard to find in the poorest countries on the planet

• About a million doses of Moderna’s vaccine have been sent to low-income countries.

• The company has been accused of focusing on profit, The New York Times reported.

• Moderna told The Times it has limited production capacity and is filling existing orders.

Poorer countries received far fewer doses of the Moderna vaccine than wealthier countries, The New York Times reported.

Data from Airfinity, a company that tracks vaccine shipments, showed that about one million doses of Moderna vaccine went to low-income countries, compared to 8.4 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and about 25 million vaccines from Johnson & Johnson.

The Times also reported that a few middle-income countries had to pay more for the vaccine than the United States, while others like Botswana have made deals with Moderna but have yet to receive their doses, and d others like Tunisia have not even been able to get in touch with Moderna.

Moderna’s vaccine appears to offer better protection compared to those from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson over time, Insider reported previously. Data collected from hospitals in 20 cities showed that after four months Moderna’s vaccine was 92% effective in preventing hospital admissions. During the same period, Pfizer’s efficiency had fallen to 77% and that of Johnson & Johnson to 68%.

In a press release, the company said, “From the start, our goal has been to help protect as many people as possible around the world. To date, more than 250 million people have been vaccinated worldwide with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. However, we recognize that access to vaccines continues to be a challenge in many parts of the world. We therefore remain focused on implementing a comprehensive and evolving strategy to ensure that low-income countries have access to our vaccine.

According to the Times, executives said they were producing as many doses as possible, but that their “production capacity is limited” and the doses produced are intended for existing orders.

The story continues

Dr Tom Frieden, former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Times that the company “behaves as if it has absolutely no responsibility beyond maximizing return on investment.”

In its press release, Moderna said there were five “pillars” for expanding access to vaccines:

• Do not apply the patent on their vaccine

• May 2021 agreement with COVAX to provide 500 million doses

• Work with governments planning to donate vaccines to COVAX

• build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa, but did not specify when

• Invest to increase the capacity to deliver an additional billion vaccines to low-income countries next year.

There has been an overall disparity in immunization rates between rich and low-income countries. While more than 46% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, that number is not evenly distributed, with only 2.5% of people in low-income countries receiving at least dose.

Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Portugal and Singapore are leading the way with more than 80% of their population fully vaccinated. Less than 1% of the population in countries like South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia are fully immunized.

Moderna did not respond to Insider’s email request for comment at time of posting.

Read the original article on Business Insider