WASHINGTON -- As the global vaccination campaign against COVID-19 is getting underway, the competition between rich and poor countries would be lopsided, according to a recent report of US media.

Poor countries have vaccinated 1 percent of their population, compared with 55 percent in the United States and about 25 percent globally, the Associated Press reported Sunday.

"Few expected poor countries to be at the mercy of donations from the rich, or that the inequity would be this bad for so long," it said.

That gap is attributed to decisions early on, in the initial bankrolling and vaccine distribution, while US and European officials admitted that they never thought to handle the situation globally. "Instead, they jostled for domestic use," said the report.

Meanwhile, it also indicated that flaws built into a global purchase plan for poorer countries meant it couldn't compete in the cutthroat competition to buy, as intellectual property rights vied with global public health for priority.