The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Nationalism on Global Health and Human Rights to Health Standards

Abstract

The pursuit of ending the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the surfacing and rollout of vaccines to be utilized by people around the world. However, vaccine nationalism hinders the world’s poorest countries to have access to vaccines. This article puts into perspective the impact of vaccine nationalism on global health. It also underlines its repercussions on the universal rights to health standards and identifies avenues to be followed for equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, necessary to the containment of the pandemic. The study makes use of secondary data to gain a better understanding of problems associated with vaccine nationalism. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases, websites maintained by the United Nations (like the World Health Organization [WHO]), national and international newspapers, and grey literature using a predetermined search strategy to identify all relevant qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies related specifically to the aim of this study. Its findings prove that vaccine nationalism has a negative impact on global health by posing a predicament or a delay in ending the pandemic, and furthermore, it violates human rights to health standards of the global population. Therefore, to encourage the international sharing of the COVID-19 vaccine, enforceable frameworks for vaccine development and distribution are needed and should be managed by an established international platform like the WHO.

Vaccine hesitancy and equity: lessons learned from the past and how they affect the COVID-19 countermeasure in Indonesia

“…The concept of “vaccine nationalism” refers to a nation placing greater emphasis on fulfilling its own domestic vaccine requirements as opposed to those of other nations [ 76 ]. The act of accumulation of vaccines can lead to a constrained worldwide supply, thereby worsening the pre-existing disparities in vaccine accessibility between countries with high income and those with low-middle income [ 76 , 77 ]. The phenomenon of vaccine nationalism has emerged as a significant issue amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…The phenomenon of vaccine nationalism has emerged as a significant issue amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Several affluent nations have procured substantial quantities of vaccines for their respective populations [ 76 ], thereby restricting the availability of vaccines for countries with lower-middle income. The outcome of this situation could hinder the timely distribution of vaccines, leading to limited accessibility of vaccines for marginalized communities residing in low to middle-income nations.…”

Sociological Imperialism and Medical Extroversion: Provisional Inflexion on Covid-19 Response and the Praxis of Medical Imperialism in Postcolonial Societies

“…So that in a bid to find an antidote, there was an accelerated search for vaccines and to accelerate vaccination efforts; some countries have adopted controversial measures such as mandatory vaccination policies, vaccine passports, and incentives for vaccination and, in Madagascar, it was COVID herbal drink (COVID Organic). These measures have sparked debates over personal freedoms, privacy rights, and ethical considerations surrounding coercion and discrimination (Riaz et al, 2021;Murhula and Singh, 2022).…”