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COVID-19 isn't the only pandemic we are dealing with at the moment.

U.S. top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci coined it "two Americas." Inequality in injecting vaccines, though long discussed by the international community, continues to plague the world.

It is arguably more insidious. It's not an issue that no one cares about. In fact, vaccine availability is one of, if not the most discussed, issues. According to a CGTN Think Tank study that monitored the official Twitter accounts of 18 countries' health departments between June 29 and July 15, the topic tops the debate on Twitter on almost every continent. It is the most talked-about issue in North America, South America, Asia, Africa, ranked second in Oceania, and third in Europe. It is the issue of the moment.

And yet, the inequality is galling. The Associated Press published an article on July 19 in which the African Union's envoy for vaccine acquisition Strive Masiyiwa described the situation as "like a famine in which 'the richest guys grab the baker.'" Rich countries and regions like Canada, the UK, EU, and the U.S. have hoarded doses of vaccines beyond comprehension. Canada procured 10.5 doses of vaccines for each inhabitant. The UK procured 8.2 doses each. EU has 6.9 and the U.S. has 4.6.

In contrast, Bangladesh has 0.2 for each. Pakistan stands at 0.3 and African Union 0.4. It explains why death is the fourth most talked-about thing in Africa in the think tank report. According to the WHO, COVID-19 week-on-week deaths in Africa could rise by 43 percent. On the entire continent, home to more than 1.2 billion people, only 16 million, or less than 2 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated. Nineteen countries in Africa have reported using more than 80 percent of their COVAX-supplied vaccines.

Such inequality has long-term consequences. Major economies, with their solid foundations, can more or less absorb the COVID-19 shock. China, U.S. and EU are eyeing or already experiencing an economic rebound. But, for the unvaccinated and economically underdeveloped countries, it'd have devastating effects. The UN World Tourism Organization estimates that developing economies would account for up to 60 percent of global GDP losses. Poorer countries with low vaccination rates, many of which build their economies on tourism, are predicted to see a 75 percent reduction in tourist arrivals. Somewhere between 100 million and 120 million direct tourism jobs are at stake worldwide.

And as long as a large swath of the global population remains unvaccinated, travel won't return to normal or even something remotely resembling that. Even in many of the so-called highly vaccinated countries, the situation remains dire. The U.S., which ranked at the top of Bloomberg's COVID Resilience Ranking, acted hastily to ease travel restrictions and is seeing a rise in COVID-19 infections. The CGTN Think Tank's study found that 85.7 percent of the Twitter comments made by Americans on their country's COVID-19 measures are negative, with 14.3 percent neutral. The number of positive comments can't even register on the scale, standing at 0 percent. The U.S. ranked 18th, at the bottom of the report's ranking of citizens' comments about their country's COVID-19 measures.

COVID-19 is the most challenging pandemic since the 1918 flu in the early 20th century. It is a global challenge, and combating it is a shared responsibility. Everyone needs to pitch in because no one will be spared by standing aside. Not helping and leaving a portion of the world's population out is being complicit with the virus.

Scriptwriter: Huang Jiyuan

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