About 24 percent of the global population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but distribution has been vastly unequal. In general, wealthier, more advanced economies have better access to vaccines and greater ability to administer them. They also tend to have a larger share of the workforce able to work remotely and better health care systems, helping to keep infection rates down.
Sounding alarms about the “dangerously uneven” recovery, the International Monetary Fund announced funding and policy reforms to address the needs of low-income countries. The fund will continue to provide concessional loans at zero percent interest and will increase by 45 percent the normal limits on access to concessional financing. Increasing vaccination rates is critical to the global economic recovery.