Commentary: Glaring vaccine gaps across the world are too big to ignore

By contrast, he said, “Just 25 doses have been given in one lowest-income country. Not 25 million; not 25 thousand; just 25.”

Given that a COVID-19 vaccine is an essential good like food and shelter, we should be ashamed of such grave inequities. Making the problem worse, many rich countries are stockpiling vaccines beyond what they need, as a precautionary buffer.Until a few months ago, activists for access to medicines and open science were hopeful that the enormity of the pandemic would lead to a rejection of proprietary science and patent-based market monopolies.

Similarly, the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access facility, also established last year, was supposed to provide subsidized vaccines to poor countries, with financial support from the rich world.The best commentaries and analysis to better help you see beyond today’s news headlines. Subscribe to CNA’s Commentary newsletter.This service is not intended for persons residing in the EU.

For now, we must let private players acquire rights over the intellectual property they create to ensure that they invest in costly research. A truck transports a first shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after its arrival at the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport, in Santiago, Chile, Friday, April 23, 2021.

On the other hand, pharmaceutical firms are arguably making vastly larger profits than needed to sustain their incentive to innovate .

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