International cooperation is key to get equal access to COVID-19 vaccines Almost 130 countries are yet to receive a single COVID-19 vaccine dose, as ten high-income countries secure the majority. This week, the first COVID-19 vaccine doses from the United Nations-led COVAX initiative arrived in Africa. This is a long-awaited piece of good news in a climate where vaccine procurement for developing countries has been hampered by empty promises, delays, infrastructure challenges and prejudice. While many richer countries have begun vaccinating their populations in earnest, the world’s poorest have been left behind in the global vaccines arms race. This disparity was highlighted by Henrietta Fore, executive director of Unicef, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, in a joint statement.