Even as the World Health Organization (WHO) increases its appeal to rich countries – collectively referred to as ‘the North’ to be separated for the greatest number of poor countries – to give up cardiac COVID-19 vaccines, Caribbean Community member (CARICOM) countries ranked in the global wealth / poor classification as part of the ‘South’, call for urgent all-inclusive international forum to go to ‘ r the fair distribution of vaccines associated with pushing back the virus.
Earlier this week, news broke in the region that CARICOM member countries, without the ability to compete with developed countries to procure adequate quantities of the vaccine, wanted an international meeting to establish a non-vaccine based arrangement wealth and wealth, but having recognized that COVID-19 represents a global challenge, a circumstance that should remove discriminatory factors such as affordability from the distribution equation.
The statement suggests that CARICOM is concerned that if countries in the ‘North’ continue to “cache” the vaccination, that is likely to put procurement costs out of the reach of poor countries who have already been challenged to go address the other costly repercussions of the onset of the pandemic.
Although CARICOM countries have been responding individually to what, sometimes, are the different types of COVID-19 related challenges the region has had to face, the common regional challenge is repeating in costs high costs associated with continually rising healthcare costs against the background. of which, in most territories, there have been job losses related mainly to the decline of COVID-19 from the travel industry.
The CARICOM statement claims that the region is “deeply concerned about the current prospect of unfair access to vaccines to combat the pandemic, particularly for frontline workers and vulnerable populations.” Smaller countries, he said, would struggle to compete in the global market insofar as finding funds to pay for the vaccines.
The proposed international forum, which the CARICOM statement continues, should be guided by the precepts of the World Health Organization Act Accelerator Facilitation Council in discussions that would focus on equitable access to and distribution of vaccines rather than affordability.
On September 10, 2020, WHO established the ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council, aimed at making the development, scaling up and distribution of COVID-19 “vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics” more equitable.
In making its case for the region to be near the top of the queue in terms of access to the vaccines, CARICOM states in its statement that the inextricable economic, social, and travel-related links make it it is essential that CARICOM states have urgent access to vaccines.
Countries in the region have expressed concern over what they say is a real risk, given COVID-19 transmissibility and the recent emergence of more infectious variants, the pandemic could last for years before it was arrested.
The call by CARICOM for countries in the region to be treated sensitively with regard to access to COVID-19 vaccines stems from news that some countries have already secured priority access through Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs) with vaccine manufacturers under legally binding agreements.
Apparently, at least one prominent western nation has already procured many times the number of vaccinations it needs to immunize its population.