How quickly are Covid vaccines being developed around the world?

Coronavirus vaccines have been delivered in at least 197 countries worldwide, totalling more than 11.2 billion doses.

However, the rate of progress in different parts of the world varies dramatically.

Some countries have managed to procure and provide doses to a considerable section of their people, while others are still lagging.

This is the world’s largest vaccine campaign, to reach almost every adult on the planet.

Overall, China and India have administered the most dosages, with over 3.2 billion and 1.8 billion doses provided, respectively. With about 560 million people, the United States ranks third.

Many poorer nations rely on Covax delivery, a programme sponsored by Gavi, the Vaccination Alliance, in collaboration with the Globe Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to ensure that everyone in the world has access to the Covid vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine was the first to be approved by the WHO, and it was followed by several others. The vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca is now the most extensively used in the world.

Unlike Pfizer’s vaccine, which must be stored at a very low temperature (-70C), the Oxford vaccine may be kept in a regular refrigerator, making it easier to distribute.

Most countries have started with doses for adults over the age of 60, health workers, and clinically susceptible patients. Following the vaccination of priority groups, the vaccine is rolled out to younger age groups.

In the EU, the US, the UK, and other countries, the Pfizer vaccine has been licenced for everyone aged five and up. Children aged five to eleven receive a lower dose of the vaccine than those aged twelve and over. In China and Colombia, the Sinovac vaccination is given to children as young as three years old.

The third booster dosage of a vaccine appears to offer protection against Omicron infection, and booster vaccination programmes have begun in at least 121 countries. More than 100 potential vaccinations are currently being tested in clinical trials around the world to determine their efficacy and safety.