Vaccine nationalism

摘要

During the flu pandemic of 2009, high-income nations were criticised for hoarding vaccine doses. Will "vaccine nationalism" raise its ugly head again? Some world leaders seem to have learned the lessons of 2009, says Gavin Yamey at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. "There is clearly enormous political will that when vaccines are developed, rich countries don't monopolise them," he says. "We've heard world leaders like Emmanuel Macron saying that vaccines should be a 'global public good'. That is significant because underlying it is a realisation, at the very highest levels, that without global herd immunity it's going to be very difficult to bring this pandemic to an end." The World Health Organization (WHO) covid-19 vaccine prioritisation plan (see main article) emphasises the need for "equitable and fair global allocation", and a global coalition called COVAX is working to ensure that this happens. Countries that sign up then pool resources so that if one vaccine succeeds, all can have it. It is effectively an insurance policy, says Yamey.