According to new study analysis, unfair distribution, and delays in immunizing the world against COVID-19 will cost the global economy $2.3 trillion.
According to a new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), countries that do not have 60 percent of their population vaccinated by mid-2022 will suffer $2.3 trillion in GDP losses by 2025.
Currently, approximately 60% of the population in high-income countries has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. Vaccination campaigns, on the other hand, are moving at a glacial pace in low-income economies, with only 1% of the poorer population having received at least one dose of vaccine. According to the EIU, this means that rich countries have administered 100 times as many vaccines as poorer countries.
According to international media reports, global raw material shortages and limited capacity, particularly in developing countries, are some of the major reasons for the COVID-19 vaccine production delays.
By August 23, 2.55 billion people had received COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, according to Our World in Data. Approximately 1.92 billion people were partially immunized and 630.17 million were fully immunized against the pandemic.
The EIU study projected that
- Sub-Saharan Africa would lose 2.9 % of its GDP between 2022 and 2025.
- 1.4 % by the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).
- 0.3 % by Latin America.
- 1.3 % by Asia-Pacific.
- 0.1 % by Eastern Europe.
According to the research, emerging countries will bear roughly two-thirds of these losses, thereby postponing their economic convergence with more developed countries. Asia will be by far the most severely affected continent in absolute terms, with total anticipated losses of $1.7 trillion. Additionally, the report added that Sub-Saharan African countries will suffer the greatest losses as a share of GDP, accounting for 3% of the region’s predicted GDP in 2022-25.
