So far, at least 107 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered by 78 countries around the world according to Our World in Data, a non-profit online scientific publication based at the University of Oxford. Of those doses, more than half were given in the United States (34 million), the European Union (14 million) and the United Kingdom (10 million).
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic last year, world leaders and health experts, including the WHO, have called for fair and equitable access to tests, treatments and vaccines. As new vaccines are being approved and ordered, questions are still being raised about how millions of vaccines will be shipped to all parts of the globe.
What vaccines are available?
There are currently several vaccines being administered around the world and more are on the way. According to Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, the former board chair of the United Nations-back vaccine alliance Gavi, this is the first time that this many vaccines have been developed in such a short period of time.
These vaccines vary in terms of their treatment methods, efficacy, dose requirements and storage temperature.
Despite reporting the highest efficacy rate of 95 percent, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires a storage temperature of -70C, making distribution more difficult. In comparison, vaccines such as the Indian-developed Bharat Biotech Covaxin and the Chinese-developed Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines require simple refrigerators which make it much easier to manage wide-scale distribution.
Vaccine policies
In most countries, the first to be inoculated have been front-line workers, followed by those with severe and chronic diseases and the elderly. In countries like Israel and the United Arab Emirates, mass vaccinations drives for the general public are currently under way.
Indonesia, on the other hand, began its vaccine drive by inoculating young people first, including healthcare and public service workers, rather than the elderly.
Canada is implementing a policy to vaccinate the priority populations first, key workers and then the mass public.
In the US, Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said that the US will hopefully start vaccinating children by mid-2021. Testing is under way for children as young as 12. Dr Fauci explained if those tests were successful, they would be followed by another round of testing for children up to nine years old.
COVAX global vaccine initiative
COVAX, which is a global initiative led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO, aims to provide global access to COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.
With the COVAX agreement, 92 countries will receive up to 190 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
Gavi aims to vaccinate 20 percent of countries that are low-middle income and unable to buy large quantities of vaccines. The group forecasts that at least 1.3 million doses will be made available to 92 countries by the end of 2021.
The list of 92 Gavi COVAX AMC-eligible countries and economies, based on 2018 and 2019 World Bank GNI data, are presented below:
Low income: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, North Korea, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, Tanzania and Yemen.
Lower-middle income: Angola, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Egypt, El Salvador, eSwatini, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Additional IDA (international development association) eligible: Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Kosovo, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Samoa, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga, Tuvalu.
In addition to COVAX, there are other mechanisms built by Africa’s CDC to procure 270 million doses and 400 million doses, separately.
TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.
The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.
The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.
Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
