COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: Who’s Got At Least One?

COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: Who’s Got At Least One?

With COVID-19 vaccine rollouts well underway in some countries, a return to ‘normal life’ could come sooner than later.

That said, many jurisdictions have experienced serious delays and supply shortages that have made it difficult to distribute COVID-19 vaccine doses to their populations. As of mid-February, 130 countries had not been able to begin vaccinating at all.

This interactive chart from Our World in Data tracks the share of people in each country that have received COVID-19 vaccine doses so far.

The Global Vaccine Rollout

As of publication date, roughly 100 countries have begun vaccine distribution, with about seven different vaccines available for public use at this stage.

The sheer logistical challenge of doling out vaccines is immense. Experts estimate that 70-80% of the world’s population will need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. Additionally, some of the vaccines require two doses which adds extra time and complexity to the process.

Here’s how the various vaccines compare in terms of required doses and levels of effectiveness.

Source: Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker

One key barrier to successfully administering vaccines is the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy around the globe.

For example, many people in Germany have been refusing the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a belief in its ineffectiveness and a preference for the ‘in-house’ German Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Although 1.45 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in the country so far, just 270,000 have been administered.

Who’s Got at Least One Dose?

According to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker, the current rate of doses being administered globally is more than 6 million per day. In particular, the U.S. has been remarkably efficient at administering doses, with a vaccine administration rate of over 1.7 million per day.

Here’s a breakdown of the countries who have begun vaccinating their populations and their current daily rate of doses administered.

Source: Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. Data as of Feb 28, 2021.

Certain countries appear to be on track to distribute all of their COVID-19 vaccine doses at an immensely quick rate. For example, the UK plans to vaccinate enough people to be able to lift all lockdown restrictions completely by the end of June 2021.

Additionally, the first COVAX rollouts have officially begun; COVAX is an initiative working to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Ghana was the first country to receive doses through the initiative.

Back to Normal?

Most countries are prioritizing vaccinating their high-risk groups first, from older adults to healthcare workers. That said, the planning required to vaccinate an entire population needs to be carefully thought out and often comes with immense logistical challenges.

While many countries have begun to immunize their populations, others have not been able to purchase doses yet. At the current pace, it could take a few years before things are completely back to normal and we reach herd immunity globally.