How Can We Prevent a Resurgence of Vaccine Nationalism?

Document Type : Viewpoint

Author

Department of Situation and Policy, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China

Keywords

Main Subjects


 Introduction

 

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition among vaccine-producing countries (as well as rich countries that do not produce vaccines) to secure early access to vaccines and to prioritise the vaccination of their populations, which made it more difficult for low- and middle-income countries to access vaccines and created an “immunisation gap” between countries of different income (Figure 1). ...(Read more...)

  1. Bollyky TJ, Bown CP. The tragedy of vaccine nationalism: only cooperation can end the pandemic. Foreign Aff. 2020. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-07-27/vaccine-nationalism-pandemic. Accessed January 29, 2025.
  2. World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the 148th session of the Executive Board. WHO; 2021. https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-148th-session-of-the-executive-board.  Accessed February 10, 2025
  3. Shao Q. Vaccine nationalism is not unethical from a political ethics perspective: Learning from the global COVID-19 vaccine distribution failure. Health Policy. 2024;141:104996. doi:1016/j.healthpol.2024.104996
  4. Waltz KN. Theory of International Politics. Boston: Addison-Wesley Press; 1979.
  5. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Uniting Behind a People’s Vaccine Against COVID-19. UNAIDS; 2020. https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2020/may/20200514_covid19-vaccine-open-letter. Accessed February 10, 2025.
  6. Morgenthau HJ. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. 7th ed. Beijing: Peking University Press; 2005.
  7. Quan NK, Anh NL, Taylor-Robinson AW. The global COVID-19 vaccine surplus: tackling expiring stockpiles. Infect Dis Poverty. 2023;12(1):21. doi:1186/s40249-023-01070-7
  8. Lazarus JV, Abdool Karim SS, van Selm L, et al. COVID-19 vaccine wastage in the midst of vaccine inequity: causes, types and practical steps. BMJ Glob Health. 2022;7(4):e009010. doi:1136/bmjgh-2022-009010
  9. Zacher M, Keefe TJ. The Politics of Global Health Governance: United by Contagion. New York: Springer; 2008.
  10. Altindis E. Inequitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution and the intellectual property rights prolong the pandemic. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022;21(4):427-430. doi:1080/14760584.2022.2014819
  11. Excler JL, Saville M, Privor-Dumm L, et al. Factors, enablers and challenges for COVID-19 vaccine development. BMJ Glob Health. 2023;8(6). doi:1136/bmjgh-2023-011879
  12. Kis Z, Kontoravdi C, Shattock R, Shah N. Resources, production scales and time required for producing RNA vaccines for the global pandemic demand. Vaccines (Basel). 2020;9(1):3. doi:3390/vaccines9010003
  13. Farrell H, Newman A. The new age of protectionism: coronavirus “vaccine wars” could herald a broader retreat from the free market. Foreign Aff. 2021. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2021-04-05/new-age-protectionism. Accessed February 10, 2025.
  14. World Health Organization (WHO). The mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub. WHO; 2021. https://www.who.int/initiatives/the-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub. Accessed February 10, 2025.
  15. World Health Organization (WHO). The mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub: A Pilot for Transformative Change for the Common Good? WHO; 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/the-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub--a-pilot-for-transformative-change-for-the-common-good. Accessed February 10, 2025.
  16. Herder M, Benavides X. 'Our project, your problem?' A case study of the WHO's mRNA technology transfer programme in South Africa. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024;4(9):e0003173. doi:1371/journal.pgph.0003173
  17. Ahmed MH, Hassan A. Dexamethasone for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a review. SN Compr Clin Med. 2020;2(12):2637-2646. doi:1007/s42399-020-00610-8
  18. Beigel JH, Tomashek KM, Dodd LE, et al. Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 - final report. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(19):1813-1826. doi:1056/NEJMoa2007764
  19. Welsby PD. Commentary on 'Will vaccination refusal prolong the war on SARS-CoV-2?'. Postgrad Med J. 2021;97(1145):137. doi:1136/postgradmedj-2020-139043
  20. Beaton E, Gadomski M, Manson D, Tan KC. Crisis nationalism: to what degree is national partiality justifiable during a global pandemic? Ethical Theory Moral Pract. 2021;24(1):285-300. doi:1007/s10677-021-10160-0

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 27 April 2025
  • Receive Date: 15 February 2025
  • Revise Date: 05 April 2025
  • Accept Date: 26 April 2025
  • First Publish Date: 27 April 2025