Why Poorer Countries Aren't Likely To Get The Pfizer Vaccine Any Time Soon

This week, the world heard encouraging news about a vaccine for COVID-19.

On Monday, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and its partner BioNTech, said their experimental vaccine appears to work – and work quite well. A preliminary analysis suggests the vaccine is more than 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 symptoms.

Health officials hope to start vaccinating some Americans in a few months.

"The vaccine is on its way, folks," Dr. Anthony Fauci told a crowd Tuesday, via video link, outside Brooklyn Borough Hall.

But what about the rest of world, especially people in poorer counties. Is the vaccine "on its way for them?"

Probably not, says Rachel Silverman, at the nonprofit Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C.

For starters, Pfizer can manufacture only a limited quantity of the vaccine next year – about 1.3 billion doses. "That sounds like a lot," Silverman says, "but quite a lot of that supply is already spoken for."

The U.S., U.K., E.U., Canada and Japan have already claimed, through advanced purchase agreement, about 1.1 billion doses, or more than 80% of the supply. ...

And even if Pfizer could manufacture more doses, its vaccine probably won't work in many parts of the world. ...The Pfizer vaccine requires a special ultra-cold freezer that most hospitals and clinics in the U.S. currently don't have. ...