New York, February 20 (RHC)-- People from poorer nations will probably be unable to get a COVID-19 vaccine this year because the world’s richest countries have bought one billion more doses than their citizens need, a new study has found.

“This huge vaccine excess is the embodiment of vaccine nationalism, with countries prioritising their own vaccination needs at the expense of other countries and the global recovery,” said ONE, a group that campaigns against poverty.

ONE’s policy team added “a massive course correction” in distribution was needed if the world wanted to protect and save lives as the death toll from the pandemic approaches 2.5 million.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ said on Wednesday that just 10 countries had so far administered 75 percent of all vaccinations, describing it as “wildly uneven and unfair.”  Guterres said at least 130 countries have not yet received a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

“At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community,” he said.