Colin Murphy: The west’s vaccine greed could come back to haunt it

So-called ‘vaccine nationalism’ means richer countries have a surplus at the expense of poorer nations

A temporary ward for Covid-19 patients in Pretoria, South Africa, where a new strain means some hospitals have had to ration oxygen. Picture: Getty

The world, it seems, is in the grip of a fear that we may have too few vaccines for Covid-19. But might we have too many?

Europe has pre-purchased twice the number of vaccines it needs. The US and Britain have pre-purchased four times their needs, and Canada six times its needs, according to an analysis by the New York Times.

In the meantime, poorer countries are likely to receive just one-fifth of what they ...