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COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, and the coronavirus outbreak has spread to more than 192 countries and regions around the world, causing impact on public health and bring about socio-economic hardship. According to a report published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, world gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 4.6% in 2020. WHO estimates that at least 65% of the world’s population should get vaccinated to introduce the spread of the virus and achieve herd immunity.
It is estimated that vaccine developers will make enough doses to serve a third of the world’s population by the end of 2021, most of which are pre-ordered by developed countries. This means lower incomes, developing countries may have to wait until 2023 for the vaccine. Rich countries also have better medical infrastructure and more resources to vaccinate their citizens by enabling major vaccination programs. To better understand economic indicators and health interventions, previous studies have used measures of gross domestic product (GDP) and human development index (HDI).
Analyzing the relationship between HDI / GDP vaccine distribution and COVID-19
Researchers from the USA recently analyzed the link between the two macroeconomic measures – HDI and GDP – and the circulation of COVID-19 vaccines across 25 countries until the first week of February 2021. the study published on the preprint server medRxiv*.
Data for this analysis were extracted from the Pandemic Coremicavirus datasets of our worldwide data. The site provided daily vaccination rates in several countries, GDP per capita, and HDI values such as education, life expectancy, and quality of life measures.
The results of the analysis clearly show that higher per capita GDP is associated with greater COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Also, HDI was not found to be significantly related to vaccine circulation. While these macroeconomic measures may be seen as key indicators for vaccine circulation, other factors such as progressive health infrastructure, population size, and a centralized political system may play an important role. the vaccine distribution.
“This study shows a significant association between GDP per capita and increased numbers of vaccines; however, there was no significant relationship between HDI and vaccine circulation.”
GDP is strongly associated with a higher number of vaccines, while HDI is not
The findings of this study confirm that there is a significant association between GDP per capita and a higher number of vaccines, but HDI is not associated with higher vaccine circulation. While per capita GDP and vaccine circulation appear to have a serial relationship, the UAE and Israel are more successful in vaccine distribution compared to their peers.
“GDP can play an important role in human immunization; however, some countries still have better performance with GDP per capita.”
According to the authors, these differences in their priorities, health policies, and other medical interventions can be attributed to the scope of this study. Norway, which has a high GDP per capita, has a relatively lower vaccine circulation, which may be linked to concerns as well as medical facilities.
The findings highlight the main implications of the link between vaccine circulation and socio-economic decisions.
The above conclusions suggest that GDP may be a more important socioeconomic measure than HDI to consider during a pandemic. Higher GDP can support the production, testing and circulation of vaccines larger than HDI. The authors concluded that a more complete evaluation of the link between HDI and vaccine circulation is needed.
By clarifying the important implications of the relationship between vaccine circulation and socioeconomic decisions, this work contributes significantly to COVID-19 research. Interestingly, it also shows that while GDP plays a key role in vaccination, some countries with lower GDP still perform better in terms of vaccine circulation. According to the researchers, more future studies should focus on the latent factors that may explain what other elements can accelerate vaccine delivery.
“We can conclude that, over time, we can have a more complete evaluation between HDI and vaccine circulation.”
* Important message
medRxiv publish preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be seen as final, guiding health-related clinical practice / behavior, or be treated as information established.