Higher unemployment rates, gender disparity, income and wealth inequality: these are some of the side effects of the coronavirus pandemic. While a number of vaccines against Covid-19 was developed in record time, it might take decades to undo the social and economic damage caused by the virus. The crisis has exacerbated inequalities across all major fault lines in society and undone hard-won gains in poverty reduction across the globe.
Inequality is the gift the keeps on taking. While wealthy nations have been able to secure enough Covid-19 shots to inoculate their populations several times over, the People's Vaccine Alliance—an international watchdog that includes Amnesty International, Oxfam and Global Justice—estimates that poor countries will only be able to vaccinate one in 10 people during 2021. Rich nations, needless to say, will be able to save more lives and help their economies recover faster.