BY SOLOMON DIBABA
Since February 2020, the world is grappling with a very contagious and deadly virus the scientists agreed to name COVID-19. This virus has spread so fast that only very few countries have not reported on its proliferation in their respective countries.
Global statistics that the virus has affected the entire global economy and did not spare even the richest countries with the latest medical facilities and thousands and hundreds of scientists.
The pandemic has not only affected the socio-economic profile of the world but has given rise to a new form of nationalism that the media coined as vaccine nationalism.
The political nationalism and economic protectionism that the developed countries are already pursuing is now manifested in vaccine nationalism which is indeed a wrong strategy to fight back the pandemic.
In a popular parlance vaccine nationalism prevails when a country manages to secure doses of vaccines for its own citizens or residents and prioritizes its own domestic markets before they are made available in other countries it is known as ‘vaccine nationalism’. This is done through pre-purchase agreements between a government and a vaccine manufacturer.
For example, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and European Union have spent tens of billions of dollars on deals with vaccine front runners such as Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca Plc. even before their effectiveness is proven.
It was only when the H1N1 pandemic began to recede that developed countries offered to donate vaccine doses to poorer economies. However, it must be noted that H1N1 was a milder disease and its impact was far lesser than COVID-19, which has already infected more than 22 million worldwide and killed 777,000.
Interestingly enough, even though vaccine nationalism runs against global public health principles, there is no law that was either promulgated or drafted by international organizations the UN included to regulate the manufacturing and sharing of the vaccines.
The reality on the ground shows that vaccine nationalism puts countries with fewer resources and bargaining power at a disadvantage. Thus, if countries with a large number of cases lag in obtaining the vaccine, the disease will continue to disrupt global supply chains paving the way for further proliferation.
Alternatively, to counter vaccine nationalism, WHO organized a global collaboration in the form of COVAX Facility mechanism. So far, more than 170 countries have expressed interest: about 90 low-and middle-income countries and 80 fully self-financing countries.
The countries that joined the initiative are assured supply of vaccines whenever they become successful.
Moreover, the countries will get assured supplies to protect at least 20 percent of their populations.
Any virus has no boundary and territorial demarcation that would delimit its spread. If the well-developed countries restrict the export or donation of the various vaccines that are on the market now, they would simply put their citizens at risk because the virus spreads rapidly even in a single hour or on a single event let alone hours and days. In this sense, vaccine nationalism is the antithesis of the necessity of global collaboration to curb the spread of the virus.
On the other hand, politicizing on for instance wearing masks only helps to increase the number of global deaths each minute. Even in countries like the UK, USA, Brazil, subsequent rallies and demonstrations against lockdowns are becoming challenges to vaccine nationalism because the leaders of these countries are not dead sure that their citizens would be willing to be vaccinated. At least there would be some level of opposition to the vaccines.
The African CDC is now working hard to at least reach 20 percent of the African population with the vaccine in collaboration with global financial organizations like The World Bank. The Peoples Republic of China has time and again declared that it would stand with the most vulnerable and less developed countries so that their citizens would be vaccinated.
In my view, vaccine nationalism is not only a global shame but also immorality of the highest proportions. On the other hand, strict adherence to the WHO is the best and cheaper way to roll back the pandemic. As new variants of the COVID-19 is observed in UK, South Africa, Brazil and the US, international cooperation to fight off the virus becomes the most urgent strategy to curb the virus.
All other attempts by individual countries or focusing on vaccine nationalism will only help produce and reproduce new versions of the virus thus putting unprecedented challenges on the lives of billions of the world population and restrict global economic development to diminishing returns.
Ethiopia is rapidly planning to start vaccination against COVID-19 sometimes in March in cooperation with African CDC and the WHO but much depends on the level of national preparedness and the prevention of the virus pursuant to the national health policy of the country.
The pandemic is already takings its tolls and there is certainly more to be desired at this stage.
The Ethiopian Herald February 5/2013
