COVID struck

Everyone has their own COVID story. Pramiti’s story goes as follows: she moved from India to Amsterdam during the pandemic, quarantined upon arrival, and experienced the isolating night curfew. ‘It was a dystopian situation. Soon after COVID struck, a second wave hit India, affecting many of my friends and family back home. So, of course, seeing this play out was a huge motivational factor for my research.’

Is it likely we will soon have another pandemic with all its consequences?

‘In science, there is a general sense that COVID will not be the last pandemic. It’s not a question of if but when the next pandemic hits our globalised society. In the context of pandemic preparedness, I examine how countries around the world access pandemic vaccines for their people and how this is shaped by external factors. Specifically, I research how European and Indian policies affect vaccine access in other parts of the world. Both regions are huge producers of vaccines, which makes them very influential when it comes to their global distribution.’

Why should the EU and India consider citizens of other parts of the world?

‘Every life in every part of the world has equal value. We need to protect people on those moral grounds. At a basic level, this idea is accepted in international law: international law recognises a right to health and access to healthcare. So, there are moral and legal reasons. On top of that, a pandemic doesn’t know borders. If we want open borders – which we do want because of economic reasons – it is only a matter of time before a virus travels from one part of the world to another.’ 

How can the EU contribute to global health and vaccine production?

‘The solution is not to simply move medicine from the EU and bring it to Uganda. Medicine should not be produced in only one part of the world. I argue that each state should have the capability to vaccinate its citizens, which means the ability to develop these vaccines, manufacture them at a sufficient scale, and regulate them. But currently, the people of Uganda do not have the same access to medicine as Dutch citizens. I developed a framework of “state capabilities”: the actual opportunity of a state to help its own people. Their opportunity to do so is affected by available knowledge and infrastructure within the country, as well as by external factors such as international law, other countries, and multinational pharmaceutical companies. The underlying idea is that you must expand the state capabilities. It is important that Uganda is also able to produce vaccines itself.’

Is full self-sufficiency realistic for countries like Uganda?

‘Of course, manufacturing a vaccine is a huge undertaking: it’s very expensive and only useful for large-scale production. “Regional capabilities” can complement the state. That means different African states could join forces to realise more local vaccine production. It is the state’s responsibility to provide access to medicine. But we live in such an interconnected global world that the states should also bear responsibilities towards one another.’

Is there enough solidarity to collaborate in a crisis when vaccines are scarce?

‘Scarcity is a huge problem. During COVID, we saw many countries holding much more vaccine than they needed. They wanted to ensure they had more than enough for their own people. Vaccines were often shipped to other countries when they were close to expiry. This “our people first” sentiment is an underlying issue. I also don’t want to sit here and say I don’t understand that logic. You want to make sure your people are protected in a crisis. Uncertainty and panic are what drive these actions. This is why it’s important to focus on expanding the capabilities of each country or region to develop and produce their own vaccines, more so in those regions where this is presently not happening. To do so, we need binding international commitments in place already — and not wait for the next pandemic to hit.’ 

Has COVID-19 been a good enough wake-up call?

‘I think the results were unfortunately mixed. The World Health Organization has been working on a new international agreement, which will hopefully be useful in the next pandemic. We’ve had many reforms, but I don’t think they go far enough in creating meaningful change. For example, technology transfer is crucial for developing vaccines. India and others favoured making it mandatory for pharmaceutical companies to share their data. But the EU only wanted voluntary transfer. This means you’re back to square one. There is no binding framework in place for the next crisis. At the end of the day, this is a political matter as well.’

Has any progress been made?

‘Some progress has been made. Africa was previously producing only 1 per cent of the vaccines it needed for its own population. That capacity has now been expanded, in collaboration with other countries. As for the EU, it must reckon with the idea that the next pandemic will hit. Luckily, countries and governments are talking more. The main lesson of the pandemic is to shift to collaboration in a crisis.’