Vaccine Roundup
New Hope Against the U.K. Variant
A roundup of the most important Covid-19 vaccine news this week
There are now 20 vaccines in phase 3 trials, seven approved for limited use, and three approved for full use in some countries after fully completing phase 3 trials: the vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm, and Moderna. Others, including that from AstraZeneca, have been approved for emergency use in several countries. More approvals are soon to come.
Vaccines are being rolled out around the world, but vaccination rates vary widely between nations. Many have not vaccinated a single person yet. Israel, with 22.1% of its population fully vaccinated, is the leader in the global rollout, followed by United Arab Emirates and Seychelles, according to research from Our World in Data. The United States is sixth, with 2.1% of its population fully vaccinated, and 8.4% partially vaccinated.
The coronavirus variants identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa are still raising concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines, but preliminary data is promising. Meanwhile, the unevenness of the global rollout of vaccines suggests inequality at the local, national, and international levels. Vaccines from Russia and China, which have drawn skepticism from experts, are being approved in some…
