Covid vaccine race: How quickly the world got vaccinated

Billions of doses of Covid vaccines have now been administered across the world. Here’s how Australia compares in the race to get jabs into arms.

A man is vaccinated against Covid at a clinic in Connecticut. Picture: AFP

The four billionth dose of the coronavirus vaccine was administered last week, with the global rollout taking place in more than 190 countries worldwide.

With the aim to give out doses to nearly every adult around the world, the rollout is the largest mass vaccination program in history.

But with just 3.7 million Aussies fully vaccinated (14 per cent), Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world’s developed countries in getting its people protected against the virus.

Here we look at other countries around the world and examine just how quickly they vaccinated their citizens.

A man is vaccinated against Covid at clinic set up in a high school gym in California. Picture: AFP

USA

The US ranks third in the world for the highest number of doses administered. America kicked off its vaccination rollout in mid-December 2020 and, in just seven months, 346 million doses have been given with 164m Americans fully vaccinated, meaning 50.1 per cent of the population have had both shots. When he took office, US President Joe Biden promised that 100 million people would receive at least one shot in his first 100 days. That target was reached after just 58 days but vaccination rates have dropped in recent months.

UK

Much like America, Britain began its vaccination rollout in December of 2020. Currently 57 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated. British health authorities have given out 84.5 million doses with 38.1m Brits fully vaccinated.

CHINA

China ranks first on the list of for already having administered a staggering 1.65 billion vaccinations, while more than 223m Chinese have been fully vaccinated.

The nation began vaccinations in January and was criticised initially for a sluggish rollout, before quickly ramping things up.

Incredibly, in the span of just five days in May, the country administered 100m anti-Covid-19 shots and during June, the country was averaging 20m shots a week. At the time, the government announced its goal was to inoculate 1.4b people with at least one jab by the end of the year, a target that has been well and truly smashed.

INDIA

Seven months after it began the globe’s largest ever vaccination drive, India ranks second in the world for its jab rollout with 470m doses administered. But despite a promising start, the drive has slowed in recent months because of low supply and delays in approving new vaccines. And with a population of 1.3b to get jabbed, there are just 101m people fully vaccinated at just 7.4 per cent.

A woman in India is vaccinated against Covid. The hard-hit country has administered close to half a billion vaccinations. Picture: AFP

ISRAEL

Israel is considered one of the globe’s success stories when it comes to its vaccine rollout. The country has vaccinated 59.3 per cent of its population with 11.1m doses given out and 5.3m people fully vaccinated since the country began its drive-in mid-December. Israel was also the first country to begin vaccinating teens and last week announced it would begin booster shots for Israelis over 60.

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Israel launched its campaign to give booster shots to people aged over 60. Picture: AFP

CANADA

Canada has also been a success story with its rollout, despite a slow start. The country, which began vaccinating its citizens in mid-December, has so far inoculated 59.2 per cent of its population with 48m doses given and 22m Canadians fully vaccinated.

GERMANY

Germany began its vaccination drive two days after Christmas in 2020. Currently, the country has vaccinated 51.9 per cent of its population with 92m doses given and 43.2m Germans fully vaccinated.

A sign shows the way to a vaccination centre in Berlin. Picture: AFP

ICELAND

Iceland’s small population (350,000) may have helped it surge to number one in the highest per cent of people vaccinated(70.4 per cent) but the tiny country has still done a stellar job in getting its people jabbed with 468,000 doses given and 254,000 Icelanders fully vaccinated.

NEW ZEALAND

Like Australia, New Zealand has had a difficult rollout. Just 14.2 per cent of the country is fully vaccinated with 1.76m doses given and 699,000 New Zealanders fully jabbed since its program began in February.

Originally published as Covid vaccine race: How quickly the world got vaccinated