NEW YORK - Western countries have stockpiled large quantities of vaccines against COVID-19, creating stark inequity between rich countries and poor countries, U.S. media has reported.

"By partnering with drug companies, Western leaders bought their way to the front of the line," said The New York Times on Monday, adding that they ignored explicit calls from the World Health Organization to include contract language that would have guaranteed doses for poor countries.

Residents of wealthy and middle-income countries have received about 90 percent of the nearly 400 million vaccines delivered so far, it noted.