The global agencies proposed this plan after the pandemic has reached a critically dangerous point and an investment like this can reduce the risk of infections and loss of life while boosting the economy towards a steady recovery. Along with additional funding to COVAX, a vaccine which is distributed by WHO, all the four global agencies maintained that the current goal of vaccinating roughly 30 percent of the populations in low and middle-income countries should be increased to 40 percent, and possibly 60 percent by the first half of 2022. Ultimately, this added investment has a chance of generating an estimated $9 trillion in additional global output by 2025, accordion to the analysis by IMF.

The agencies said in a statement, “Increasingly, a two-track pandemic is developing, with richer countries having access and poorer ones being left behind. Inequitable vaccine distribution is not only leaving untold millions of people vulnerable to the virus. It is also allowing deadly variants to emerge and ricochet back across the world. As variants continue to spread, even countries with advanced vaccination programs have been forced to re-impose stricter public health measures, and some have implemented travel restrictions.”

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According to a Spanish study, which is based on mixing Covid-19 doses, it was found that giving a dose of Pfizer’s drug to people who already received the first shot of AstraZeneca is highly safe and effective. The study is run by Spain’s state-backed Carlos III Health Institute found that the presence of IgG antibodies in the bloodstream was between 30 and 40 times higher in people who received the follow-up Pfizer shot compared to those who only received one Astrazenca dose.

The study also found that the presence of neutralising antibodies increased seven times after receiving a Pfizer dose, which is significantly higher than the second AstraZenca shot.

In the UK, a ‘mix and match’ study recently showed that people vaccinated with a shot of Pfizer’s vaccine followed by a dose of AstraZeneca’s, or vice versa, were more likely to report mild or moderate symptoms such as headaches or chills, compared to the ones who received two doses of the same type.

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Juan Esteban Musalem, president of the Chilean-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism addressed the media and said, “Starting in February of this year, Chile has managed to structure a vaccination program with very positive characteristics, in which CoronaVac vaccines, in particular, manufactured by China’s Sinovac Biotech has played a leading role.” He also added that China and Chile have established channels of health collaboration, reflecting their remarkable political and economic ties between the two countries.

It is to note that Chile has thus far administered over 11 million vaccination of which 10 million were manufactured by Sinovac and the remainder by Pfizer and BioNTech. The Andean nation has a population of around 20 million. Currently, 13 million vaccines have already been delivered to Chile with several shipments pending. Above the existing agreement of understanding, the nation will receive 20 million doses of vaccines annually over the next three years from China.

The Sinovac vaccine is known to have played a vital role in the vaccination campaign of the country where 94 percent population in the vaccinated category have received it. It is favoured among other available vaccines because of the supply and logistics of its storage. Recently, Chile also approved the emergency usage of Ad5-nCoV or Convidicea, the vaccine developed by China’s CanSino Biologics.

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