Comparison of COVID-19 Vaccine Policies in Italy, India and South Africa

Objective: This study aims to analyze the COVID-19 vaccine policies and their effectiveness in Italy, India and South Africa, to provide empirical experience for vaccination and the COVID-19 pandemic control.Methods: The study systematically summarized the COVID-19 vaccine policies in Italy, India and South Africa through public information available on the official websites of the WHO and the ministries of health in these three countries. Indicators were selected and calculated for a cross-sectional comparison of the vaccination status of the three countries and to measure the effectiveness of the implementation of their COVID-19 vaccine policies separately.Results: Italy, India and South Africa differ in the start date of COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine types, vaccine appointments and whether vaccinations are free. The COVID-19 vaccination rates in these three countries varied widely. COVID-19 vaccination has had a positive effect on reducing the number of daily deaths and stabilizing the effective reproduction rate. All these three countries had experienced more than one outbreak spike due to the spread of the new mutated strain since the start of COVID-19 vaccination.Conclusion: This study concluded that responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires active promotion of basic and booster vaccinations to comprehensively build up the population immunity. Promoting equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine internationally and solidarity and cooperation among countries to maximize global common interests. Combining vaccination with non-pharmaceutical interventions, the pandemic is prevented and controlled comprehensively and systematically in three aspects: detection of the source of infection, reduction of transmission routes, and protection of susceptible populations.Funding Information: This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province in 2022: Construction and application of COVID-19 control model PSR-SOR-Haddon in Guangdong Province (No. 2022A1515011112).Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: This study did not involve ethical issues.