COVID-19 continues to have a devastating effect on millions of people. The approval of vaccines brought renewed hope for a return to normality in 2021, but with demand far outstripping supply, the gap between rich and poor countries has widened even further.
In addition to the humanitarian case for investing in vaccination of emerging nations, there is a strong economic incentive to support a collective pandemic recovery.
A study produced by the US National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that full post-pandemic economic recovery would depend on securing equal access to vaccines in all countries. Without this, the uncontrolled infection rates in emerging markets have the potential to destabilize the vaccination efforts of developed regions.