Who gets to have the vaccine?

摘要

IT IS August 2021, and the moment the world has been waiting for has finally arrived. After many false dawns, a vaccine against covid-19 has passed all the tests and is ready to be rolled out. It has been an arduous journey, but at last vaccine manufacturers around the world are cranking out thousands of doses a day. The end of the pandemic is on the horizon. But this isn't the end. It isn't even the beginning of the end. There are more than 7.5 billion people in need of vaccination but perhaps only a billion doses available in the first six months of production. Who gets one? Everyone agrees that front-line healthcare workers must be first in the queue. But who should be next? What is the best way to attain herd immunity? Will people accept the vaccine? And is it possible to stop rich countries from hoarding the supplies?