Some countries are receiving far more vaccines than others.

As of March 25, 2.3 million shots of coronavirus vaccines are being administered in the United States every day. This rate far exceeds President Joe Biden’s promise that all adults be eligible for vaccination as of May 1. While this is certainly good news for the US, the situation varies around the world. A significant discrepancy has emerged between rich and poor countries.

Certain activists have coined the term “vaccine apartheid” to label this discrepancy. However, according to the director of Public Citizen, a non-profit advocacy organization, the situation is far more complicated, “The goal of health agencies right now is to manage the pandemic, and that might mean not everyone getting access… it’s not even clear the goal is to vaccinate the world.” In this case, managing the pandemic may mean prioritizing larger, wealthier countries even if that means inequitable distribution.

Just four countries—the US, UK, China, and India—have received more than half of all vaccine doses. There are arguments to vaccinate larger countries like the US first; their greater populations increase the chances of new strains forming and infecting the rest of the world. 

The question is whether or not this justifies the magnitude of unequal access. President Joe Biden has recently been accused of “hoarding” vaccines. 453 million excess vaccines have been ordered by the US federal government. Such “hoarding” could be detrimental to both the US’s reputation and diplomatic progress, as Russia and China are using the sale of vaccines to expand diplomatic influence.