One in four people globally may not get Covid-19 vaccines until 2022

Nearly a quarter of the world’s population may not have access to a Covid-19 vaccine until at least 2022, according to a study published in The BMJ on Wednesday which warns that vaccines will be as challenging to deliver as they were to develop.

Another study in the same journal estimates that 3.7 billion adults worldwide are willing to have a Covid-19 vaccine, highlighting the importance of designing fair and equitable strategies to ensure that supply can meet demand, especially in low and middle income countries.

These findings together suggest that the operational challenges of the global Covid-19 vaccination programme will be at least as difficult as the scientific challenges associated with their development.