Emerging Markets: Covid-19 Vaccination Strategies and Challenges 6.24.21

Our Covid-19 vaccination table includes updated information on the immunization strategies selected EMs are pursuing and the challenges they face.

Below are some of this week's key developments. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you want to discuss any of the countries mentioned in more detail.

Please click on the 'View PDF' button at the end of the article to see the full table.

Highlights

Vaccine Roll-Out

• Brazil’s federal government has announced that every adult will receive at least one dose by the end of September. Many regions have already disclosed their entire immunization schedule in conformity with the federal agenda.
• Chile is currently administering vaccines to 18 and 19-year-olds, as well as to the 12-17 age group (with the Pfizer vaccine), while also working on a campaign to persuade unvaccinated adults to come forward for their vaccine.
• The Czech Republic will start vaccinating adolescents aged 12 to 15 in July; the country is also considering scrapping the requirement to pre-register for vaccinations, possibly shifting to a “walk-in” system in early August.
• In Kenya, vaccination has plateaued at 1.85% of the population as deliveries have slowed to a trickle amid COVAX supply shortages.
• Nigeria expects a second delivery of 3.92mn doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine via the COVAX mechanism by early August and therefore announced it was resuming first-dose inoculations, which had been put on hold on 24 May.
• Peru’s government is aiming to have all people aged over 50 fully vaccinated by the end of July when a new administration takes office.
• In order to facilitate vaccinations during the summer holiday period, Poland will allow residents to get the required two doses of the vaccine at different vaccination sites.
• In Russia, several regions are introducing compulsory vaccination for specific occupational groups such as employees of state-owned enterprises/institutions or workers in various services industries. This will likely boost the pace of vaccination in the near term.

Vaccine Procurement

• In Colombia, the first batch of 1.5mn Sinovac vaccine doses acquired by private companies is set to arrive on 28 June; regulations passed earlier this year allow private sector entities to acquire and administer vaccines in a process that is supposed to complement the government-led vaccination campaign.
• The Philippines has ordered 40mn doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with deliveries reportedly to start in August.
• Thailand’s Chulabhorn Royal Academy, which is headed by the king’s sister, will import Sinopharm vaccines starting in July to supplement the locally produced AZ vaccines being manufactured by Siam Bioscience, which is owned by the monarchy. As of last week, around 3.16mn people had registered to receive the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine.

Infections and New Variants

• WHO officials have warned that African countries are experiencing “a full-blown third wave,” with South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, Uganda, and Namibia particularly hard hit. This makes faster vaccine supply imperative, as the circulation of more contagious variants is accelerating across the region.
• In Argentina, Buenos Aires authorities plan to prioritize the application of second doses amid fears over the global spread of the Delta variant; the challenge for Argentina is that the first and second doses of the widely applied Sputnik V vaccine are not interchangeable and that deliveries of second doses are running behind schedule.
• People vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine will need to be revaccinated after six months in order to be protected from the Delta variant of the virus, according to the head of the Gamaleya Research Institute Epidemiology and Microbiology, the vaccine’s developer.
• On 15 June, South Africa returned to lockdown “Level 3” restrictions to combat a third Covid-19 wave, but additional restrictions may be announced, particularly for Gauteng province.
• Thailand reports the Beta variant is spreading in the southern provinces, near the ones that border Malaysia.

Vaccine Diplomacy

• Mexico plans to send AZ vaccines to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which are all important sources of illegal migration northwards; Mexico will also send vaccines to Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
• South Africa has been selected to host the WHO’s first Covid-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology transfer hub in a bid to scale up vaccine production and access. However, immediate large-scale vaccine supply to the region is needed to address the Covid-19 resurgence and threats posed by variants.
• The United States increased its donation of Moderna vaccines to Taiwan to 2.5mn doses, up from President Joe Biden's original pledge of 750,000 doses.