End Vaccine Apartheid: Summit on Vaccine Internationalism Demands Urgent Action to Help Global South
We look at the push to end what the World Health Organization is calling vaccine apartheid," as many countries have yet to see a single COVID-19 vaccine shot amid mounting infections. What we're looking for is an alternative to a system that has basically allowed for COVID-19 vaccines to be absolutely concentrated in the higher-income countries," says Carina Vance Mafla, former health minister of Ecuador, who co-chaired this weekend's emergency Summit on Vaccine Internationalism. She argues vaccine access can be improved by expanding vaccine production in other countries ... that have developed vaccine candidates, but also having pricing that is based on solidarity." We also speak with Achal Prabhala, coordinator of the AccessIBSA project, which campaigns for access to medicines in India, Brazil and South Africa. Prabhala says the pandemic is now largely a developing country problem."