Thread by @GlobalJusticeUK

Important report by @oxfamcampaigns today ahead of 2nd anniversary of the pandemic:

- More people have died than we think
- Rich countries with older populations are NOT worst affected
- It's far from over

Understandably a bit buried by Ukraine so here's a🧵

#PeoplesVaccine

The pandemic death toll is likely to be *much* higher than official figures show, as testing and reporting levels are unequal.

Based on excess deaths, an estimated *19.6 million* people around the world have died from Covid, 4 times as many in lower-income countries as rich ones

Globally, 3.2 million people have likely died of Covid in the three months since the #Omicron variant emerged.

If you live in Britain or any heavily boosted country – yes, you did read that right.

More contagious + low vaccine levels = deaths, even with a less deadly variant

Vaccine inequality means the world is far from ready to 'live with' Covid, even Omicron.

73% in rich countries are fully vaccinated, compared with just 6% in low-income countries.

Rich countries have given 6 times more booster jabs than low-income countries have given 1st jabs

Relying on charity to vaccinate the world has failed.

G7 leaders pledged to donate 1.8bn doses but have delivered less than half. The UK pledged 100m but has delivered less than a third.

Meanwhile an estimated 241 million doses have been wasted in G7 countries since November

The unequal global impacts of the pandemic are staggering:

⚰️ 19.6 million excess deaths
⬇️ 160 million pushed into poverty
🚺 137 million lost their jobs, mostly women
🚸 4 million children orphaned

💰 40 new Covid billionaires

Underlying all of this is a pharmaceutical industry which owns the medical treatments best placed to end this pandemic, but is refusing to share them in pursuit of profit.

Governments in the rich world have failed to use their power to step in and force them to

"After two years, we all want this pandemic to be over, but politicians in rich countries are exploiting that fatigue to ignore the devastating impact of Covid-19 that continues to this day."

@Anna_Marriott

"As billions of people still can't access vaccines, some have the audacity to claim that the pandemic is over. That is an utter fallacy. 3rd and 4th doses in rich countries alone cannot erase the ever-rising death toll in lower-income countries."

Maaza Seyoum, @peoplesvaccine

“The ‘post-Covid’ narrative emerging from rich countries will only worsen the complacency that has plagued the global fight against Covid-19. The global south understandably wants to take things into their own hands – and rich countries should let them.”

@gregggonsalves

Read the full report 👇

PANDEMIC OF GREED
A wake-up call for vaccine equity at a grim
milestone

oxfam.org/en/research/pa…