Vaccine alliance chief warns omicron could result in ‘inequality 2.0’

Vaccine alliance Gavi’s chief executive warned that countries “hoarding” vaccines and withholding donations because of the new omicron variant could result in “inequality 2.0,” The Associated Press reported. 

The head of Gavi, Seth Berkley, said that the rise of the new omicron variant, first discovered in South Africa, has resulted in a rush to get booster shots in countries where vaccines are readily available. He added that donors are apprehensive to give their doses amid uncertainty. 

“We also are beginning to see donors not wanting to donate their doses as fast as they might have because of the uncertainty now of where we are,” Berkley told the AP.

“Of course, our long-term concern is, if it turns out that new variant vaccines are required, that there may be an ‘Inequity 2.0’ where we see wealthy countries hoard those vaccines once again, like we saw at the beginning of the pandemic,” he added.

Boosters are now available for all Americans over the age of 16. 

Gavi manages the COVAX program along with the Center for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the World Health Organization, while UNICEF handles distribution. COVAX had initially sought to get coronavirus vaccines to all countries.

Berkley is a contributor to The Hill. 

In an opinion piece for the outlet, Berkley wrote that there should be enough vaccines to “protect every adult on this planet.”

“With 1.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine now being produced every month, there should be enough vaccines to make this happen, with global production expected to reach 12 billion doses by the end of the year — enough to protect every adult on this planet.”

“But one look at the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and it’s clear we are still a long way from that. While some high-income countries have already protected nearly 70 percent of their population, only 2.5 percent in the very poorest low-income countries have been protected,” he wrote.

Berkley’s comments echo that of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who in September denounced inequality in the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout, calling it an “obscenity.”

In early November, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus slammed countries with the highest vaccine coverage, calling the distribution of booster vaccines a “scandal that must stop now.” 

“It makes no sense to give boosters to healthy adults, or to vaccinate children, when health workers, older people and other high-risk groups around the world are still waiting for their first dose,” he said at the time. 

As of December, the United States has donated over 300 million doses to the coordinated vaccine effort. The White House announced in October that the United States and the international COVAX vaccine-sharing program would follow through on commitments to donate more than 1 billion doses to countries that needed them in 2022.

Updated 1:00 p.m.