Experience from Israel shows that death rates and hospital occupancy rates fall sharply when 50 percent of the population has been vaccinated.

To stop the spread of infection through herd immunity, an even higher degree of vaccination is required.

- You want to get up to around 70-80 percent, says Ali Mirazami, professor of clinical virology at Karolinska Institutet.

Risks vaccination protection

In Europe, just over 40 per cent of the population has now received at least one dose of covid-19 vaccine, but in many of the world's poor countries the corresponding figure is just under 1 per cent.

- If we do not remove the virus from other parts of the world, this will blow our necks, says Mirazami and continues:

- As long as the virus spreads, new variants arise.

Suddenly a variant can pass the vaccine protection and then the carousel starts again.

"Redistribution must take place now"

The world's rich countries hold far more doses than they themselves need, states Anders Nordström, global health ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In recent years, he has been a member of the WHO's expert panel, IPPPR, which has examined the WHO's and the world's handling of the corona pandemic.

- The redistribution must take place now, the countries must not sit and hold on to vaccines to be on the safe side - because then no one will be safe.

According to the IPPPR report, high-income countries have vaccine contracts for more than 200 percent of their needs.

Last week, the EU promised 100 million doses in 2021 to the international cooperation Covax, which will assist poor countries with vaccines.

- It is far too little, says Nordström.

- From an epidemiological perspective, it is more important that we get the vaccine out into the world.

It's not about justice, it's about how to stop the outbreak.

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"We will see people's smiles again," said Ava Kreutziger, 14, after receiving the vaccine.

Photo: EBU / AP