COVID-19: Red Cross Red Crescent turns to animation to boost global vaccine effort

Still from animation video showing people trying to bridge the COVID 19 vaccine divide and boost vaccine equity by dragging bottles of vaccines up mountains and across rivers to places that do not have them so that everyone can be vaccinated.

Still from animation video showing people trying to bridge the COVID 19 vaccine divide and boost vaccine equity by dragging bottles of vaccines up mountains and across rivers to places that do not have them so that everyone can be vaccinated.

Photo: IFRC

A clever social media video is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent’s latest effort to convince global leaders, governments and big pharmaceutical companies to provide more COVID vaccines to countries with low vaccinations across Asia and the Pacific.

The animation is in the form of a nature documentary that examines how humanity is coping with the global pandemic and why vaccines are key to controlling COVID-19.

“Until the majority of humans are vaccinated, the virus will continue to spread and mutate, creating new variants that could evade the vaccine altogether,” a resonating voice reminiscent of David Attenborough explains in the 90-second animation. “The humans only hope is to share the vaccine amongst themselves.”

New analysis by the IFRC reveals that nearly one billion people in Asia and the Pacific are yet to receive a single dose of COVID -19 vaccine. Globally, less than 20 percent of the population have received a single dose in low-income countries, according to Oxford University’s ‘Our World in Data’.

John Fleming, IFRC’s Asia Pacific Head of Health, said:

“The COVID vaccine has saved millions of lives but too many people are still living in danger.If we want to end this pandemic once and for all, we need to urgently address hesitancy in every country, strengthen local delivery to get doses into arms and transfer vaccine and anti-viral drugs technology to manufacturers in low-income nations."

“There has been remarkable cooperation between countries around the world, but this pandemic is not over, and much greater action is needed by leaders in richer countries and pharmaceutical companies to enable equal access to vaccines for people everywhere.”

The animation video underlines the need to distribute vaccines among poorer nations with utmost urgency.

The video can be downloaded here.

The IFRC is asking people to just click on ‘share this video’ until it reaches policy makers, pharmaceutical companies, and government authorities.

Its message is simple – people all around the world can take action to vaccinate everyone in all corners of the globe by calling upon their governments to help. Help is needed to ensure supply of vaccines to low-income nations as well as to get those vaccines from the tarmac into the arms of people. The quicker we do this, the safer everyone will be.

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:

In Bangkok: Preeti Abraham, +66 61 412 3910, [email protected]

In Kuala Lumpur:  Rachel Punitha, +60 19 791 3830, [email protected]

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