Economist Podcasts Buy now, save later: financing vaccine candidates
Aug 11, 2020
This discussion tackles the complexities of funding and distributing COVID-19 vaccine candidates during clinical trials. It highlights the global struggle for equitable vaccine access amid rising vaccine nationalism. The conversation then shifts to Scotland's pandemic response, revealing how it has sparked fervent independence sentiments. Lastly, it explores the journey of a traveler along dangerous migration routes, reflecting on how vlogs influence perceptions of illegal migration and the challenges authorities face in this digital age.
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Vaccine Development Challenges
- Governments are investing billions in COVID-19 vaccine candidates, many of which may fail.
- Global manufacturing capacity is limited, potentially causing shortages even if a vaccine is successful.
Overproduce Vaccine Candidates
- Governments should overproduce various vaccine candidates to increase the chance of having enough if one works.
- The economic cost of overproduction is small compared to the cost of prolonged pandemic.
Vaccine Nationalism
- Vaccine nationalism, where rich countries hoard supplies, is a likely outcome.
- Past pandemics, like the 2009 swine flu, saw rich countries prioritizing their own citizens.