Vaccine roadblock

The Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), an international initiative aimed at equitable access to vaccines, was launched in April 2020, a few months after the outbreak of the pandemic. Among its co-founders is the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN agency responsible for public health across the globe. COVAX has been working with governments and manufacturers for the past over a year to ensure that the vaccines are available worldwide to rich as well as poor countries. However, the situation on the ground is far from encouraging. As per a UN report, there is a huge disparity between the vaccination rates of various countries, mainly due to supply gaps. Some nations have inoculated over 60 per cent of their population, while at the other extreme are those which have covered not even 1 per cent of their citizens.

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Even as travel and trade restrictions are being eased or lifted in many parts of the world, the reluctance of several European Union (EU) nations to accept Covishield-vaccinated travellers for unrestricted movement across the region has struck a discordant note. This obstacle has prompted COVAX to urge all regional, national and local government authorities to recognise as fully vaccinated all people who have received Covid-19 vaccines that have been deemed safe and effective by the WHO and/or the 11 Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRAs), ‘when making decisions on who is able to travel or attend events’.

The WHO emergency use listing includes Covishield, the main vaccine used in India ever since the inoculation programme began in mid-January, but it is not among the vaccines authorised by EU. The decision of the WHO and the SRAs on vaccine approvals should have worldwide acceptance, overriding the preferences of individual nations/blocs. The EU’s pick-and-choose approach will not only worsen vaccine inequity but also undermine the UN body’s authority. Consequently, such a parochial attitude will hamper efforts to reboot the global economy. The WHO chief has rightly said that until we end the pandemic everywhere, we will not end it anywhere. The EU, which includes some of the world’s most affluent nations, should do course correction in the best interests of humankind.