COVID-19 vaccine acceptance higher ‘in poor countries’

ABSTRACT

Speed read People in low- and middle-income countries ‘more willing to take COVID-19 jab’ - study Researchers say findings support prioritisation of vaccines in poorer countries Data points to huge economic toll of slow vaccine rates in developing countries [NEW DELHI] People in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) appear more willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine than those living in richer countries such as Russia and the US, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. See PDF] Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University in the US and director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, believes high-income countries should immediately donate large quantities of COVID-19 vaccines — not just excess vaccines — and pledge vaccines for the future. A “Global Dashboard” on COVID-19 vaccine equity, developed jointly by the WHO, the United Nations Development Program and the University of Oxford, estimates that if low-income countries could keep up the same COVID-19 vaccination rate as high-income countries, they could add $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021.