We join our voices with WHO in expressing our disappointment with the discriminatory distribution of vaccines around the world with rich countries vaccinating their people and opening up their economies, while poorer countries are facing severe vaccine shortages. Many countries, such as Bangladesh, have had to stall their original vaccination programme when supplies stopped, leaving millions of people vulnerable to the more serious conditions of Covid-19. Meanwhile, many developed countries have excess vaccines and according to WHO, are vaccinating young people who are at lower risk of getting infected. Even the WHO's Director-General has criticised the rich nations for not sharing the vaccines.

Globally, vaccination campaigns have brought down both infection and mortality rates caused by the coronavirus. The pandemic was slowing down all over the world, as WHO reported the lowest number of new cases in February. But the Delta variant of the Cobid-19 epidemic has created new concerns, as the virus has been identified in at least 85 countries and is spreading rapidly among those who have not been vaccinated yet. According to health experts, 80 percent of the population should be vaccinated to tackle the Delta variant. Also, the second dose of the vaccine is just as important. According to the WHO, vulnerable people may need to get an annual vaccine booster to shield them from the Delta variant of the virus. But, if the rich countries share vaccines equitably, there won't be any need for boosters as complete vaccine doses will do all the work.

This newspaper on June 2 reported that the US was going to both donate and sell 80 million Covid-19 vaccines to other lower income countries including Bangladesh. But, we haven't received any US vaccines yet. However, there is some good news, and it is that Bangladesh is going to receive 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine under the Covax programme (an initiative of some international bodies including the WHO) within the next 10 days. Bangladesh received the first consignment of 100,620 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on June 1, under the Covax scheme run by the WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Also, the health minister has said that the first shipment of the Sinopharm vaccine that the government has bought from China will arrive in the first week of July.

Distribution of vaccines to developing countries that are experiencing shortages must be done quickly and efficiently. Rich countries with excess vaccines should share them with lower income countries. We still have to acquire more vaccines if we want 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated, which will give us a fighting chance against Delta and other variants. Countries must work together to ensure everyone is vaccinated because otherwise, no one is totally safe as new variants may keep developing and spreading.