Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine: The Race is on

When Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director of the World Health Organization warned against “Vaccine nationalism’’ [1], I was happy. You are probably thinking, what is vaccine nationalism? Vaccine nationalism is simply when rich countries hoard or secure millions worth of supplies of a possible vaccine from Pharmaceutical companies for their own citizens. Every country is on edge and hoping to get the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine first. Numerous reports stated that United States of America, United Kingdom, and European Union had secured billions worth of supplies of the possible Covid-19 for their population first [2]. When I read that I was disturbed because the people and countries that need it the most, might not get enough or any if we are not careful. And if that happens, we will not win against this pandemic.

Unfortunately, vaccine nationalism is not illegal, and I detest that. It should be illegal and international laws should be developed and implemented against vaccine nationalism. With no international laws in place against such practice, it might be challenging to get these rich countries to cooperate. Some of you might be saying, I do not see anything wrong with other countries trying to get enough supplies of the possible vaccine for themselves. Initially, I did not think there was anything wrong with this. However, after reflecting I realized that if every rich country on earth were securing or got hold of billions worth supplies of the possible Covid-19 vaccine, what happens to the less fortunate countries? Especially in Africa.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus even mentioned that "Nationalism exacerbated the pandemic and contributed to the total failure of the global supply chain"[1] and I agree with him. Lucky for us, the WHO developed the COVAX initiative which is a global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both developed and less developed countries [3]. This is absolutely brilliant and will ensure every country equal access to the COVID-19 vaccine. So far 172 countries [3] have signed up for the initiative, and I encourage more countries to do so. Once again, we should all remember we are all in this together. If your idea of winning this pandemic is by leaving others, especially low-income countries behind, then you are greatly mistaken.

References

1. WHO Chief Warns of 'Vaccine Nationalism'. (2020). Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/who-chief-warns-vaccine-nationalism

2. Vaccine nationalism: Experts warn countries against taking 'me-first' approach. (2020). Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/vaccine-nationalism-experts-warn-countries-taking-approach/story?id=72240939

3. 172 countries and multiple candidate vaccines engaged in COVID-19 vaccine Global Access Facility. (2020). Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/24-08-2020-172-countries-and-multiple-candidate-vaccines-engaged-in-covid-19-vaccine-global-access-facility