Expert Views on COVAX and Equitable Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

Objectives: We face the impossibility of having enough COVID-19 vaccines for everyone in the near future. This study aims to contribute to the debate on equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, tackling key ethical discussions and policy challenges regarding early phases of COVAX, the global co...

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Main Authors: Tania Manriquez Roa (Author), Felicitas Holzer (Author), Florencia Luna (Author), Nikola Biller-Andorno (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Objectives: We face the impossibility of having enough COVID-19 vaccines for everyone in the near future. This study aims to contribute to the debate on equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, tackling key ethical discussions and policy challenges regarding early phases of COVAX, the global cooperation mechanism for supporting fair vaccine allocation.Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with twelve experts and a literature research on academic articles, media sources and public statements. We built a data analysis matrix and conducted a thematic analysis.Results: Our findings show, first, that interviewed experts who hold different views on vaccine allocation, including moderate nationalist perspectives, agree on joining a global cooperation mechanism. Second, incentives to join COVAX vary greatly among countries. Third, specific barriers to COVAX emerged in the early implementation phase. And fourth, countries might be trapped in a zero-sum game regarding the global vaccine supply.Conclusion: We present findings that enrich analyses of early phases of COVAX (April 2020-21), we introduce three ethical discussions that provide a common ground for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and we highlight policy challenges.
Item Description:1661-8564
10.3389/ijph.2021.1604236