Distribution of vaccines for COVID-19
There has been much debate and media coverage about how vaccines against COVID-19 will be distributed.
To stop transmission there needs to be global access to vaccines, but the key challenges will be:
• Limited vaccine availability due to manufacturing capacity
• Affordability
• Vaccine storage/cold chain
For Swine-flu, children and pregnant women were prioritised for vaccination as children were shown to drive transmission of Swine-flu and pregnant women were most at risk of severe disease. For COVID-19, those at the highest risk of severe infection (including the elderly and individuals with medical conditions that predispose them to severe disease) are likely to be prioritised for access to vaccination.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Global Alliance Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) have joined forces to establish COVAX in order to promote global collaboration over competition to ensure fair vaccine supply internationally. The video below explains how the strategy will work:
This is an additional video, hosted on YouTube.
A PDF summary of the video can be found in the downloads section below.
Next, we will look at the different types of COVID vaccines currently in development and the advantages/limitations of each.
Vaccine Development: Finding a Vaccine for COVID-19 and Future Pandemics
Vaccine Development: Finding a Vaccine for COVID-19 and Future Pandemics
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