Wealthy nations must act to prevent a global ‘vaccine apartheid’

By Melissa Fleming and Dr. John Whyte, Chief Medical officer at WebMD

The world faces two possible futures: one in which all nations band together to bring covid-19 under control, and another in which the wealthiest countries emerge from the pandemic but developing nations do not. In this second scenario, two classes emerge — a vaccinated class and an unvaccinated class.

The choices wealthy countries make now will determine which future takes hold.

The seeds of a two-class tomorrow are already being sown.

Good news! The global vaccine rollout began as the first COVID-19 vaccine doses reached Ghana through COVAX. This marks a huge step in the world’s fight against the coronavirus. COVAX’s mission is to end the COVID-19 crisis as soon as possible by enabling fair access to the COVID-19 vaccines. The arrival of 600,000 vaccines in Ghana marks the beginning of the rollout of this incredible effort, and means that healthcare workers and those most vulnerable in Ghana and across the world can begin receiving the vaccine.

With COVID-19 continuing to steal lives and livelihoods, we need to ensure all countries have access to the lifesaving vaccines now.

Only together can we end the pandemic.

Read the full piece in the Washington Post:

Opinion | Wealthy nations must act to prevent a global 'vaccine apartheid'

When it comes to infectious disease, no one is truly safe until everyone is. Today, rich nations can still decide which future they want.