President Joe Biden is set to urge global leaders to newly commit to combating the pandemic, including fully vaccinating 70 percent of the global population by next September, according to a list of targets obtained by The Washington Post.
Many wealthy countries have surpassed or will soon surpass that goal, but the rest of the world lags far behind. As of Sept. 13, 42.3 percent of the world population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to Our World in Data. However, only 1.9 percent of people in low-income countries have received at least one vaccine dose.
In total, about a third of people worldwide are currently fully vaccinated.
Covax, the World Health Organization-backed vaccine distribution campaign, said it wouldn't be able to vaccinate as much of the world as wanted because wealthy countries purchased much of the early vaccine supply, and because of obstacles such as export bans and "delays in filing for regulatory approval." Covax said it will deliver about 30 percent fewer COVID-19 shots this year than its original goal.