Could the Omicron variant have been avoided? It could set back vaccine successes around the world | Meru Sheel

The new Covid-19 variant highlights the inequity that leaves poorer countries unprotected, posing a risk to their populations - and all of us

I am an epidemiologist working in global health, and have worked in the field of vaccines for nearly 15 years. While the scientific successes of Sars-CoV-2 vaccine development have been surreal, the inequity of the pandemic and access to vaccines has left me despondent.

As Australia reaches almost 90% coverage for two doses of Covid-19 vaccination, it's a success story worth celebrating. Covid-19 vaccination has already proved to be highly effective at dampening wide-scale community transmission in settings such as New South Wales, where a rapid rollout with high levels of first-dose coverage along with other public health measures helped with the bending of the curve.