Will Giving COVID Booster Shots Make It Harder to Vaccinate the Rest of the World?
Scientific American - 10/20/2021
But one billion doses would be nowhere near enough to achieve the WHO’s goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the world by June 2022—and this is where widespread booster campaigns could become a problem. “I understand why a politician would like to say, ‘I want to do both’” booster campaigns and donations, says health law expert Brook Baker of Northeastern University. “But to pretend that a dose in an American arm doesn’t mean one less dose in an African arm doesn’t make sense.” On an individual level, though, an eligible person’s decision to forego a booster is unlikely to free up a dose for an unvaccinated person abroad.
But one billion doses would be nowhere near enough to achieve the WHO’s goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the world by June 2022—and this is where widespread booster campaigns could become a problem. “I understand why a politician would like to say, ‘I want to do both’” booster campaigns and donations, says health law expert Brook Baker of Northeastern University. “But to pretend that a dose in an American arm doesn’t mean one less dose in an African arm doesn’t make sense.” On an individual level, though, an eligible person’s decision to forego a booster is unlikely to free up a dose for an unvaccinated person abroad.