Vaccine equity and vaccine access challenges – 2026

Evidence from leading journals since 2021 consistently documents both pronounced vaccine inequity between countries and substantial within‑country access gaps, especially for COVID‑19 but also for routine childhood immunization during and after the pandemic. Below, we summarize 10 high‑impact, post‑2020 articles on the topic. A Global COVID-19 vaccine inequity 1. Gozzi et al., Nature Communications 2023 – impact of inequitable COVID-19 vaccine allocation The authors show that by October 2022, completion of primary COVID-19 vaccination reached 77% in high- and upper-middle-income countries but only 50% in low- and lower-middle-income countries, with even larger relative gaps earlier in the rollout when marginal benefits of vaccination were highest. Modelling suggests that earlier and more equitable dose allocation to 20 low- and lower-middle-income countries would have averted substantial additional deaths and reduced the probability of emergence and spread of immune-escape variants. Gozzi N, Bajardi P, Perra N. Estimating the impact of COVID-19 vaccine inequities. Nature Communications. 2023;14(1):3385. 2. Borowicz...