Between the High Ideals and Reality: Managing COVID 19 Vaccine Nationalism
This report examines what has come to be known as "vaccine nationalism" through the lens of the early experience with the COVID 19 vaccination process. After explaining the meaning of the term, this report investigates how this phenomenon has manifested during the COVID 19 pandemic, identifying its epidemiological, economical, ethical and legal aspects. It also looks at the different international initiatives that have been adopted to deal with it, concentrating in this context on the COVAX project. The report concludes that the success of these initiatives has been limited. It also observes that COVID 19 vaccine nationalism appears to be a phenomenon that is characteristic of the high income Western countries, while in aspiring non Western powers the vaccine crisis is primarily seen as a way to advance their geopolitical goals.
European Journal of Risk Regulation