A snapshot of global Covid-19 vaccines

To date, more than 2.71 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in 180 countries. The wealthiest 26 countries account for 24.6% of all vaccinations so far. Yet they account for just 10.4% of the world’s population. The countries shown on the map are not the wealthiest countries but rather a selection to give a broader view.

A note on the numbers: Being fully vaccinated means that a person has taken a full course of a Covid-19 vaccine. Some vaccines, such as the one produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, require two doses, whereas the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is made up of a single shot. As a result, it has become necessary to indicate how many people have at least one dose as this means they have some form of protection against Covid-19 – whether that’s partial or complete. Not all countries’ information is shown on the map because there is too little information for some countries, a lack of space to show all countries, and inconsistencies in how some countries record vaccine information.

The Covax facility delivers, but it’s not enough: The international vaccine-sharing initiative has shipped 88-million Covid-19 vaccine doses to 131 countries. At least 92 of these are middle- and lower-income countries that rely solely on receiving vaccine doses donated by the private sector and philanthropy via the facility to vaccinate their residents. More than half of the poorer countries receiving vaccines through the facility did not have enough vaccine supplies to continue, said World Health Organization senior adviser Bruce Aylward on 21 June. Some of them have completely run out.