EU’s lag in vaccine race could spark tensions

With Covid-19 vaccines coming soon, the countries likely to pull ahead in protecting their populations are not a big surprise. Britain has become the first Western country to clear a shot, and after ploughing as much as $18bn into Operation Warp Speed, the US is in a prime position.

Governments across the industrialised world are already under fire for their flailing efforts to revive economies as the pandemic fills hospitals with more than 90,000 patients in the US alone. While concerns grow that wealthier nations will move ahead of lower- and middle-income regions, the prospect of parts of the rich world recovering more slowly than others threatens to create additional international friction.

“What matters is to ensure a quick deployment of vaccines which have been deemed safe and effective,” the EU’s executive arm wrote in a November 30 e-mail, adding that it is working with member states to ensure they are ready for distribution as soon as available. The US is also a leader in production. This will play an important role as “countries are unlikely to export shots in large quantities until their own vaccination goals are met”, said Rasmus Bech Hansen, Airfinity’s CEO.

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