ACHIEVING GLOBAL VACCINATIONS
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University
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Achieving Global Vaccinations
Abstract
Key words, Covid 19, Normalcy, Vaccination, Remedies, vaccines and COVAX
The current global shortage of vaccines avails a buffer on the ongoing efforts to curtail the spread of the viral corona pandemic globally. Worst affected are the developing nations due to limited resources in manufacturing and acquiring the corona vaccines. The World Health Organization (WHO) portrays that no one is safe globally until uniform global vaccination is achieved. Developed nations, for instance, the United States (U.S), have made notable progress, having vaccinated 50 percent of the population. Consequently, efforts are in top gear to ensure more than 80 percent of the population are vaccinated by the end of July. U.S progress in vaccine manufacturing and vaccination can be attributed to early response since the advent of the coronavirus in early January 2020.
Data from leading vaccine manufacturers portray the high demand for a vaccine, with developed nations already in line to receive 8.35 billion dosses. The supply of dosses is being implemented on a priority basis. For instance, pre-ordered vaccines from leading pharmaceuticals are oxford AstraZeneca 3.29 billion, Johnson & Johnson 1.29 billion, Novavax 1.39 billion, Pfizer 1.28 billion, and Sputnik-V with 340 million pre-ordered dosses. The figures suggest that developing nations will have to wait for a little longer to access the vaccine.
The essay aims at depicting the numerous challenges hindering the production of vaccines, vaccination, and distribution of vaccines in developing nations. The article will portray the U.S and WHO efforts in curbing the spread of the Covid 19. Further, the essay will extends strategies that can be adopted to resolve the limitations. The essay will adopt a prose structure highlighting the challenge and providing the solution. The study will aid in furthering knowledge on the concerns of Covid 19 to numerous readers.
Vaccination challenges and remedies
Notably, gradual progress is being achieved through developing research on the production of coronavirus vaccines. As a result, numerous pharmaceutical firms have successfully produced vaccines in less than a year. The positive shift is appreciated considering that vaccines for similar scourges like AIDS have not yet been accomplished over the year’s production of vaccines. The limiting factor to quicker mass production of vaccines has been attributed to underinvestment in the vaccine development sectors. Nevertheless, experts illustrate that as of February 2021, over 200 hundred vaccines have been developed and are in different stages of the clinical test (Allen, 2021). The news shows that eventually, efforts are in place to accomplish widespread vaccination.
The hindering factor for the massive production of Covid 19 dosses is the concentrated state of global vaccine manufacturing. A viable solution would be a widespread exchange of the technology to develop the vaccines with other nations. Pharmaceuticals producing the vaccines, for instance, AstraZeneca, has instigated efforts with Brazil to share research and exchange data to accelerate the process of developing vaccines (Wouters et al., 2021). It is absolute to understand that the goal is to save maximum lives and not the monetary benefits. Numerous nations can develop vaccines but lack the technology and the knowledge of developing the cure. The turbulent times necessitate combined effort and foreign goodwill to share the discovery to save humanity and resume everyday living.
The affordability of the corona vaccine is a glitch that needs to be debated and resolved. Data show that the expensive vaccine Moderna vaccine is retailing at thirty-seven U.S dollars and the cheapest AstraZeneca retailing at four U.S dollars (Wouters et al., 2021). The high cost of corona vaccines hinders access to the vaccines, especially for the developing and middle-class nations deprived of the resources to acquire the dosses. Besides, even in developing nations, the underprivileged may be locked out due to lack of monetary resources, therefore the need to ensure affordable prices for vaccines.
The expensive pricing of the vaccines is attributed to the notion that most pharmaceuticals are privately owned. The government, nonprofit organizations, and individuals of goodwill need to make donations to reduce the cost of production. Additionally, the government ought to offer subsidies to pharmaceuticals companies through tax incentives to boost the private sectors’ efforts and ensure massive production of vaccines. The need to establish long-term approaches through sustainable funding in research development to deal with the current shortage of coronavirus vaccines and future situations. Experts suggest that the only way to attain sustainable healthcare and ensure readiness for future occurrences is through equitable budgetary allocation in research of viral diseases, vaccine development, and medical equipment funding.
The challenge of developing nation which is lack of access dosses for vaccination and lack of capability to manufacture their vaccines leading to low vaccinations of their populaces. Further, developing nations often face poor health infrastructures, limited medical personnel, numerous strikes, and corrupt health structures. A hike in corona infections is detrimental to the lives of civilians. Numerous developing nations portray overreliance on medical equipment from donors like WHO and developed nations. The Covid 19 pandemic entirely affected every nation. Therefore creating acute demand for corona protection equipment like personal protective equipment (PPES), facemask, air ventilators, and oxygen tanks. The rise in demand instigated a hike to the vital medical supplies, with individual governments first striving to attain domestic sustenance of their health structures.
Still, the rise of Vaccine nationalism in developed nations that own pharmaceuticals extend a challenge to resolving the vaccine shortage glitch. Experts allude that vaccine nationalism is attributed to the competitive nature of international politics. Affluent nations are known to utilize foreign aid to arm-twist developing nations to adopt their favored agendas. However, the purge of the coronavirus pandemic, which has also affected the nations, has led to vaccine hoarding to nourish domestic demand (CHAKRAVARTY, 2021). The selfish act has accelerated by developing nations by subsidizing the pharmaceuticals company to produce more vaccines but contrasting the supply of dosses to other needy nations. Restrictive measures, including closedown of borders, halting air travel, and lockdown, further hinder access to the source for the vaccine necessities.
Efforts to remedy the worrying corona pandemic trend are gradually being implemented. For instance, through the efforts of WHO in partnership with the U.S European union and nonprofit organizations have established the COVAX program. COVAX purposes of supporting the development, production, and delivery of coronavirus vaccines. Specifically, target the developing and middle-class countries that have depicted acute shortage of the essential vaccination dosses. Furthermore, COVAX strives to enable equitable distribution of the vaccines and shun the hoarding of vaccines by affluent states. Data depicts that they have more than half of already produced vaccines (Rouw, 2021).
WHO, through COVAX, depicts that individuals over the age of sixty years and patients with underlying conditions, for instance, patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, and other conditions, are at higher risk of being infected with Covid 19. Also, individuals in those categories face a greater risk of demise due to reduced infections. The strategy strives to convince nations to prioritize vaccinating the category of sick individuals and front-line workers as the world waits for more vaccines to be manufactured. To resolve the glitch of vaccine nationalism, the WHO constantly engages various pharmaceuticals stakeholders to donate and extend more dosses to developing nations and middle-class nations, which account for more than eighty percent of the world population.
Furthermore, the WHO and development partners have gradually developed the literature and shared it with nations on limiting the spread of coronavirus. For instance, numerous campaigns and adverts are in place to enlighten the masses on protecting themselves and their loved ones. The strategies are wearing a face mask and, if possible, a mask that covers the nose and mouth. Also, washing of hand regularly with running water or using alcohol-based sanitizers to exterminate germs, avoid overcrowded places and unnecessary travel, maintain two meters social distance and seeking medical attention if experiencing the signs of coughing, sneezing, and increase in body temperatures. Mass sensitization has aided in curbing the spread of the lethal virus. Educating the masses to be responsible for avoiding new infections is a step towards the resumption of normalcy.
In the U.S, elected representatives are urging President Biden to support his comrade, South African president Ramaphosa, to convince the World Trade Organization (WTO) in relaxing the intellectual property right. The WTO’s intellectual rights are a blocking factor in sharing and exchanging information on research development and technologies of vaccines. Senator Sanders stated that” “Simply put, we must make vaccines, testing, and treatments accessible everywhere if we are going to crush the virus anywhere” (Madhani, 2021). The statement is among numerous calls by world leaders to relax the intellectual property rights that suggest that one cannot copy or emulate other entrepreneur’s strategy in developing similar commodities. However, due to grievous harm, the corona pandemic present calls to share knowledge and data can progressively aid in deterring the spread and accomplish mass production of vaccines.
The U.S has pledged four billion dollars to the COVAX facility to acquire vaccines and protective equipment as part of global efforts to aid the developing nation. President Biden has also pledged resource support since the notion that the U.S cannot be on the safe side as long as the virus is fast spreading in other nations (Allen, 2021). The dependence on trade among world nations ought to motivate developed nations to join in efforts by releasing and supplying the vaccines at an affordable price. However, the senate’s grilling of disaster preparedness officials for donating vaccines meant for American civilians. The argument is there is no need to store millions of vaccines in a warehouse, and yet there are numerous deprived nations that desperately require them. Therefore the need to donate them since the production of vaccines has not been halted in the U.S.
Additionally, to scale up the production capacity, the U.S president and the WHO have appealed to remove intellectual rights to access the rhesus protein factors crucial components in the development of vaccines. President Biden complimented the effort of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for donations of more than two billion dollars to Novavax pharmaceuticals to produce the vaccines. The American department of health science has played a significant part in research development and resource allocations to aid in creating a vaccine.
Still, the rejection of vaccines by the populations presents worrying tread. Recent data suggest that a section of U.S civilians and people in other countries are hesitant to be injected with the vaccine. Experts allude to the challenge of consuming vaccines due to safety concerns, mistrust in the health system, and individual believes. Nevertheless, the WHO and the Biden administration are appealing to civilians to absorb the vaccines since they have gone through all safety requirements before being approved by the WHO and U.S Foods and Drugs agency (FDA). The vaccines are meant to immune the body against the virus, and the sure means the societies will resume normalcy is through vaccinations of all people.
Experts portray that the world will need to produce 9.5 billion vaccine doses to attain global vaccination by the end of 2021. Expert’s estimates suggest that the vaccines be produced through a uniform approach between the government and the WHO by extending funds, resources, and technological exchanges, especially to developing nations, to curb and eradicate the virus (Irwin, 2021). In achieving the goal, countries need to relax the supply and demand aspects, such as export and opening of borders to allow smooth distribution of the vaccines. Further, seize the unfair strategy of hoarding vaccines and, if possible, donates to countries with limited resources.
Conclusion
The civilization’s need for safe and effective vaccination against Covid 19 is enormous. It is upon individual government and WHO to ensure equitable access to vaccines promptly to be effective. The current shortage of vaccines depicts that developing nations may miss the second jab essential to attain complete immunity. The essay has portrayed challenges and the remedies that can aid in ensuring smooth vaccination globally. The need to access affordable vaccines and civilians to accept being vaccinated is the progressive step towards the resumption of normalcy.
References
Arthur Allen. (2021, March 22). The case for donating US COVID vaccines overseas. The Lund Report. https://www.thelundreport.org/content/case-donating-us-covid-vaccines-overseas
AAMER MADHANI. (2021, April 16). Senators to Biden: Waive vaccine intellectual property rules. ABC27. https://www.abc27.com/news/us-world/politics/senators-to-biden-waive-vaccine-intellectual-property-rules/
Irwin, A. (2021). What it will take to vaccinate the world against COVID-19. Nature, 592(7853), 176-178.
PINAK RANJAN CHAKRAVARTY. (2021, February 8). Vaccine nationalism exacerbates global faultlines. ORF. https://www.orfonline.org/research/vaccine-nationalism-exacerbates-global-faultlines/
Wouters, O. J., Shadlen, K. C., Salcher-Konrad, M., Pollard, A. J., Larson, H. J., Teerawattananon, Y., & Jit, M. (2021). Challenges in ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines: production, affordability, allocation, and deployment. The Lancet.
Rouw, A., Wexler, A., Kates, J., & Michaud, J. (2021). Global COVID-19 vaccine access: a snapshot of inequality.
