Middle East: the uneven access to the Covid-19 vaccine

In the Middle East, access to the Covid-19 vaccine follows the same rules as in the rest of the world. The wealthier and more politically stable the country, the faster it can access the vaccine.

There are three types of countries in the Middle East:

• Countries with extensive financial resources: this is the case of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, some of which began their vaccination campaigns in December 2020.
• Countries with limited resources: this is the case of Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. In these countries, vaccination against Sars CoV-2 has started, although in a limited way. The doses received generally come from international aid and from the international COVAX pooling system.
• Countries in crisis: This is the case of Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Palestine where vaccination has not yet started and no date has been set yet to receive the first batches of the vaccine.

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