Ahead of World Immunization Week, BIO’s Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath joined an expert panel to answer this very question and discuss progress and challenges ahead for global vaccine equity.
1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been produced and 10 billion are expected by the end of 2021—“sufficient to achieve global equity in the distribution of vaccines and attain worldwide herd immunity by March 2022,” says the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).
“The response has been historic and just inspiring,” with more than 900 biotech research programs addressing COVID launched since the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Michelle said during an IFPMA event to mark the first anniversary of the ACT-Accelerator.
What’s working? The Biden administration “took some very positive steps, reengaging with the WHO, recommitting to COVAX, delivering on some of their financial commitments,” she said.
But panelists agreed: the U.S. and other developed countries need to provide more support for vaccine manufacturing and distribution, specifically to remove manufacturing supply barriers to meet production targets and promote the free flow of goods and trade.
Dr. Michelle suggested reconsidering use of the U.S. Defense Production Act, which was designed to limit export of expertise, materials, and vaccines. She called the measure “well-intentioned but somewhat misguided at this stage,” as we need to share resources so that other countries can distribute more vaccines.
“We need to recognize that there are only a handful of manufacturers across the globe who have that expertise at hand, and we need to focus on getting them the materials they need,” she continued. “This is not like transferring intellectual property in a small molecule for a drug. As a former FDA official, I can tell you biologics are a whole different order of magnitude of complexity.”
Watch the full briefing.
What about vaccine equity and distribution right here in the United States? On Tuesday, April 27, BIO’s Director of Infectious Diseases Policy Amy Walker will join a National Council on Aging (NCOA) webinar on the root causes of vaccine hesitancy among older adults—register here.
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