Access to COVID-19 Vaccines and Medicines – a Global Public Good

Addressing vulnerability and promoting security
Jul 11, 2020 | GIGA-Focus, Wolfgang Hein, Anne Paschke

The key for slowing and stopping the COVID-19 pandemic without lockdowns lies in development of, and universal access to, effective drugs and vaccines, which are increasingly said to be “global public goods.” In this article for GIGA-Focus, Wolfgang Hein and Anne Paschke suggest that the concept of medicines as global public goods is unprecedented. The potential outcome must be assessed against the background of a three-way struggle between those demanding access to health products as global public goods; pharmaceutical firms defending patent-based exclusive rights, and “vaccine nationalism” by individual states. It remains to be seen whether national governments and pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable by those arguing for a global public goods approach, to provide “access for all.”
https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/system/files/publications/gf_global_en_2004.pdf

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