International Red Cross sets goal of immunizing 500 million people

A coalition of Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations set a goal of 500 million coronavirus vaccinations in developing nations, saying international health care disparities would have “deadly consequences.”

In a statement Thursday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) noted that nearly 7 in 10 vaccine doses administered so far have been in the 50 wealthiest nations compared with only 0.1 percent in the 50 poorest.

“This is alarming because it is unfair, and because it could prolong or even worsen this terrible pandemic. Let me be clear: In the race to end this pandemic, we are all rowing the same boat. We cannot sacrifice those at highest risk in some countries so that those at lowest risk can be vaccinated in others,” IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said in the statement.

The equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is more than a moral imperative: It is key to solve the most pressing public health emergency of our time.

IFRC is launching a new plan to support the immunization of 500 million people.

— IFRC (@ifrc) February 4, 2021

Under the IFRC plan, the group will back nation-specific vaccination plans, including campaigns to reduce mistrust among recipients. Volunteers will also specifically prioritize economically and geographically isolated areas to ensure those obstacles do not prevent vaccination.

“The equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines between and within countries is more than a moral imperative: It is the only way to solve the most pressing public health emergency of our time,” he added. “Without equal distribution, even those who are vaccinated will not be safe.”

The organization warned that if vaccination rates in poorer countries are not properly addressed, the virus will circulate and mutate first within them and then internationally, leading to potentially vaccine-resistant new strains.

“Our plan is about making sure that those vaccines make it out of capitals and into the arms of vulnerable, at-risk and isolated individuals and communities,” Chapagain said.