1 billion vaccine doses have now been given, mainly to the rich
26 April 2021
Note: This map represents the total number of vaccines administered, not people vaccinated; Data: Our World in Data; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios
The world has now crossed 1 billion total vaccines administered.
Breaking it down: Nearly half of those have come in the U.S. (29%), EU (13%) and U.K. (5%), with other rich countries also sprinting ahead. Another 22% have come in China and 14% in India. Africa, meanwhile, represents just 1.6% of vaccinations to date.
One reason is that the COVAX initiative, designed to ensure that every country has access to vaccines, is just 16% of the way to its distribution target for the first half of 2021.
- That's due in large part to the fact that India — by far the largest provider of COVAX doses — went from exporting 77% of its production before March 15 to 7% over the past month, per Airfinity. India has curbed exports to fight the surge at home.
- If India continues to keep nearly all of its production, Airfinity projects there would be enough supply to cover people over 60 by May and the entire adult population by November.
- But African CDC Director John Nkengasong and other public health officials have called on India to lift the export restrictions, noting that a prolonged delay could be catastrophic for countries that are counting on COVAX.
What to watch: The main issue facing COVAX right now isn’t funding but securing reliable sources of vaccines.
- It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will share the 60 million AstraZeneca doses it plans to export through COVAX or bilateral arrangements with individual countries.
Go deeper:Biden's move to share vaccine doses could be a global game changer
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.