TY - JOUR
T1 - Global COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity
T2 - Failures in the First Year of Distribution and Potential Solutions for the Future
AU - Pilkington, Victoria
AU - Keestra, Sarai Mirjam
AU - Hill, Andrew
N1 - Funding Information: Although the TRIPS waiver is supported by the great majority of WTO countries, some key HICs have opposed it and unanimous support is necessary to pass the motion (). The United States have offered support with the key limitation that the waiver should apply to vaccines only, not COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics () and they also specific that the sharing of technologies would be on a voluntary basis only. Other countries which host large domestic pharmaceutic industries, including the UK and Germany, have been key opponents of the waiver (). These countries may oppose the waiver on an economic basis. Estimates have suggested that BioNTech, the biotechnology company behind Pfizer's mRNA vaccine, alone could boost Germany's GDP by 0.5% in 2021 (). However, a nationalistic approach based on economic interests is not effective in the global fight against a pandemic disease which knows no borders. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Pilkington, Keestra and Hill.
PY - 2022/3/7
Y1 - 2022/3/7
N2 - Within the first year of distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, high-income countries (HICs) have achieved vaccination rates of 75-80%, whilst low-income countries (LICs) vaccinated <10%. This disparity in access has been one of the greatest failures of international cooperation during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Global COVID-19 vaccine inequity affects us all, with ongoing risk of new variants emerging until global herd immunity is strengthened. The current model of global vaccine distribution is based on financial competition for limited vaccine supplies, resulting in HICs getting first access to vaccines, with LICs being forced to rely on voluntary donations through schemes like COVAX. Pharmaceutical companies own the intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines, allowing them to control manufacturing, distribution, and pricing. However, the pharmaceutical industry did not develop these vaccines alone, with billions of dollars of public funding being instrumental in their discovery and development. Solutions to enable global equitable access already exist. The next step in scale up of manufacture and distribution worldwide is equitable knowledge sharing and technology transfer. The World Health Organization centralized technology transfer hub would facilitate international cooperation. Investments made into developing this infrastructure benefit the COVID-19 response whilst promoting future pandemic preparedness. Whilst globally there is majority support for waivers of IP to facilitate this next step, key opponents blocking this move include the UK and other European countries which host large domestic pharmaceutical industries. A nationalistic approach is not effective during a global pandemic. International cooperation is essential to achieve global goals against COVID-19.
AB - Within the first year of distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, high-income countries (HICs) have achieved vaccination rates of 75-80%, whilst low-income countries (LICs) vaccinated <10%. This disparity in access has been one of the greatest failures of international cooperation during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Global COVID-19 vaccine inequity affects us all, with ongoing risk of new variants emerging until global herd immunity is strengthened. The current model of global vaccine distribution is based on financial competition for limited vaccine supplies, resulting in HICs getting first access to vaccines, with LICs being forced to rely on voluntary donations through schemes like COVAX. Pharmaceutical companies own the intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines, allowing them to control manufacturing, distribution, and pricing. However, the pharmaceutical industry did not develop these vaccines alone, with billions of dollars of public funding being instrumental in their discovery and development. Solutions to enable global equitable access already exist. The next step in scale up of manufacture and distribution worldwide is equitable knowledge sharing and technology transfer. The World Health Organization centralized technology transfer hub would facilitate international cooperation. Investments made into developing this infrastructure benefit the COVID-19 response whilst promoting future pandemic preparedness. Whilst globally there is majority support for waivers of IP to facilitate this next step, key opponents blocking this move include the UK and other European countries which host large domestic pharmaceutical industries. A nationalistic approach is not effective during a global pandemic. International cooperation is essential to achieve global goals against COVID-19.
KW - COVID-19
KW - inequality
KW - manufacturing—R&D interface
KW - pricing
KW - vaccines
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126890977&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.821117
DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.821117
M3 - Article
C2 - 35321196
SN - 2296-2565
VL - 10
SP - 821117
JO - Frontiers in public health
JF - Frontiers in public health
M1 - 821117
ER -