Out of the pandemic a new word has emerged, now increasingly being used in our common vernacular. ‘Vaccine Nationalism’, referring to the prioritization of the domestic needs of the country in giving our vaccines in an outlay of others, is threatening to prolong the pandemic and destabilise the global economy. 

 

According to the WHO, wealthier countries which represented only 16% of the global population have bought 60% of the world’s vaccine supply. The disparity in securing doses of vaccines was analysed by data collected by Duke University's Global Health Innovation Center. They concluded that higher income countries have secured 4.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines - lower income nations only acquired around 670 million. The UK is a prime example of this. With a population of 66 million, by February this year we had around 400 million doses of the vaccine, 6 times more than our total population.  

 

Given that various vaccines already exist, albeit with varying levels of efficacy, it is clear that the inequitable distribution of such resources which results in preventable deaths is morally indefensible. Unprotected populations in developing countries are now increasingly vulnerable to COVID-19, on top of experiencing rapidly growing poverty rates. 

 

If global eradication of the virus is halted due to uneven allocation of the vaccine, it is likely the virus will only mutate further and result in the emergence of more contagious variants. This could spark another steep rise of cases and reduce the efficacy of already existing vaccines. This poses further socio-economic ramifications - the longer the virus is around the greater the disruption of international trade, the worse the impact on mental health and schooling. 

 

Are we really doomed to another wave of the pandemic? Are there solutions to this ‘Vaccine Nationalism’? Recently, World Health Organization Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s condemnation of this problem has sparked conversation on this topic. There do exist different mechanisms to try and combat this issue. Notably COVAX is a global initiative with a goal to provide equitable access to vaccines. As of April this year COVAX  delivered 38.5 million doses to low and middle income countries. 

 

The health crisis is a global crisis and must be addressed in such a manner. A collapse of cooperation and the pursuit of ‘Vaccine Nationalism’ threatens to only delay the return to normal life, a life we all miss: one free of restriction, unfettered by lockdowns and at liberty from social distancing.