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@davidzaikin · 10 Jun 2024

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Vaccine Nationalism Threatens Global Sustainability – David Zaikin

Wealthy countries that fail to
ensure COVID-19 vaccinations in developing nations risk reversing gains for a
global sustainable future.

David Zaikin: Local authorities distribute doses of the Sinovac vaccine against
COVID-19 at a hospital in Fredonia, Colombia, on March 10, 2021.

The global pandemic response has
exposed an unsettling trend. Wealthier nations have been accused of hoarding
vaccines – in some cases five times more than they need – while poorer
countries could wait years for lifesaving immunization. A massive 90% of people
in 67 low-income countries may not get immunized in 2021, largely due to
higher-income countries taking more than they need. It reads like a dystopian
novel.

While Europe and North America
have carried out a combined 123 million vaccinations, the entire African
continent has administered just under 3 million, with many African countries
facing a long wait to receive any doses. This follows a stark address from the
World Health Organization's director-general, who noted in mid-January that
only 25 doses had been given in one low-income country in Africa, and warned
that the world is on the verge of "catastrophic moral failure."

For richer countries, failing to
look beyond their own interests is counterproductive and will delay the world's
victory against COVID-19. It would also precipitate another crisis – without
equal and fast distribution of vaccines to the most vulnerable nations, we're
undoing decades of progress toward a sustainable future and a level playing
field.

#1A1D26;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN">MORE: An Opportunity to Improve
Global Development

While new
coronavirus variants intensified pressure on governments to prioritize
vaccinating their own populations, it doesn't have to be an either/or scenario.
Norway has shown the way to manage both simultaneously – setting out plans for
its domestic program as well as donating surplus vaccine doses to countries in
need.

The worldwide
inoculation that we all want calls for immediate and multilateral action. That
means a bigger push for cooperation between governments, industry bodies and
Big Pharma to accelerate the equitable rollout of affordable vaccines.

Bridging the
Widening Wealth Gap

Even before
COVID-19, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated
an annual financing shortfall of trillions of dollars to reach the Sustainable
Development Goals – a collection of global goals set by the U.N. intended to
improve living conditions around the world – the goals were stymied by the
pandemic's impact on resources. Delayed vaccinations will impact the
development of self-sustaining economies even more, widening the wealth gap and
diminishing those states' ability to navigate future crises.