Chicago's NPR News Source

4 Countries Dominate Doses As Pressure Grows For Global Vaccine Solutions

4 Countries Dominate Doses As Pressure Grows For Global Vaccine Solutions

A nurse administers a shot at a Covid-19 mass vaccination site at Martinsville speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia on March 12, 2021. - Community leaders, the heads of the Sovah Health hospital, and the speedway all came out to help and support the hospital nurses and the Virginia Department of Health in the mass vaccination campaign for this rural area in Virginia. The Virginia Department of Health said that vaccine distribution has been based on population and Covid-19 rates. But moving forward, the department said it is considering tweaks to ensure more geographical and racial equity in vaccine distribution. Health workers in the United States have administered more than 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, an official tracker showed on march 12. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

More than half of worldwide vaccine doses have been administered in just four countries — India, China, the U.K. and the U.S. That kind of inequity will "extend the pandemic, globally," says Tom Bollyky, director of the Global Health program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

NPR's Tamara Keith reports on the growing pressure for the Biden administration to step up its vaccine diplomacy.

NPR's Lauren Frayer tours the largest vaccine factory in the world's top vaccine producing-country, India — a country poised for an even bigger role in global vaccine distribution. You can see photos and more from her report on the Serum Institute of India here.

Additional reporting in this episode from NPR's Jason Beaubien.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

More From This Show
The Girl Scouts have been part of American childhood for generations. And now that quintessential experience is helping young girls, who are new to the United States get a sense of belonging. It comes through a Girl Scout troop based in one of New York City’s largest migrant shelters. The shelter has around 3,500 migrants, and all of the Girl Scouts are children of families seeking asylum. For the last few weeks, NPR’s Jasmine Garsd has been spending time with them, and brings us their their story. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy