HEALTHCARE INSIGHT: VACCINATION
Vaccination in Asia is slow as it faces supply constraints
Fullerton Healthcare, Global Doctors Hospital, Sunway Healthcare Group shares how hospitals and health institutions help out in the rollout—from administering jabs and educating the public to encouraging vaccination.
Managing expectations on the ground on vaccine ability is one challenge in public vaccination -CEO Ho
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t the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a constant reminder to the public to wear face masks, maintain social distancing, and clean their hands, among others, from health authorities to protect themselves from being infected. Now, vaccines have been developed and are being rolled out as part of the fight against COVID-19. Whilst no vaccine is 100% protective, the World Health Organization said approved vaccines provide “high degree of protection” against getting seriously ill and dying from COVID-19. The WHO said that the public must continue observing health measures despite being vaccinated to prevent the transmission of the virus. According to Our World in Data, 4.59 billion doses have been administered globally, with 31.2% of the world population having 12
HEALTHCARE ASIA
Vaccination in Asia is progressing relatively slow in terms of the population covered
received at least one dose and 23.5% fully vaccinated, as of 14 August. It said that 4.7 billion doses have been administered globally. In Asia, only 24.43% of the population have been fully vaccinated and 7.2% have been partly vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. This is compared to the 43.68% fully vaccinated in Europe and 7.8% partially vaccinated, whilst 40% have been fully vaccinated in North America and 12% have been partly vaccinated. “Vaccination in Asia is progressing relatively slow in terms of the population covered so far compared to the European Union and the US. Governments in various countries are trying their best to improve the vaccination rollout, but the supply constraints could limit their efforts,” Prashant Khadayate, Practice Head of Pharma at GlobalData, said.
Rollout challenges Sakshi Sikka, Senior Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Analyst, Fitch Solutions, also cited supply issues as one of the main drivers for the slow vaccination pace in Asia. This is also partly due to the “sheer size of most countries’ populations.” “Many Asian markets continue to lag behind the global average vaccination rate and are now facing vaccine supply issues because India, the third largest global manufacturer, has paused exports,” she said. “China and India are running the world’s largest vaccination drives. Despite an early start, China and India’s vaccination programme have made slower progress than in the US and the EU.” Wealthier nations such as Japan and South Korea have also mounted slow vaccination campaigns mainly due to supply issues and manpower challenges, she said.
