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[경제•통상] [송경진 회원] Respect for innovation is key to faster global vaccine supply (The Korea Times 2021.08.24)
Date: 2021-08-24
The Korea Times | 송경진 FN 글로벌이슈센터장, 前 세계경제연구원 원장
Posted 2021.08.24
As countries around the world are still struggling to vaccinate their populations, their efforts are undermined by the insufficient and inequitable production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines.
According to "Our World in Data," 32.4 percent of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 24.4 percent has been fully vaccinated as of Aug. 22.
The figures are a far cry from the goal of having vaccinated 70 percent of the world's population to achieve global herd immunity, which will require at least 11 billion vaccine doses. The world needs faster vaccine production and distribution for global public health and economic recovery.
Leaders' commitments and promises to increase the vaccine supply abound. I have been heartened by the string of positive news. As recent as July of this year, some leaders of APEC member nations, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, pledged to increase vaccine supply.
Last October, India and South Africa proposed that the World Trade Organization (WTO) suspend intellectual property rights for all COVID-19-related vaccines and treatments, in a bid to scale up global production and supply. WTO negotiations are underway for a waiver from certain provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, the global rulebook for intellectual property, for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19. Over 100 countries, including the United States, have expressed their support for the TRIPS waiver.
According to "Our World in Data," 32.4 percent of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 24.4 percent has been fully vaccinated as of Aug. 22.
The figures are a far cry from the goal of having vaccinated 70 percent of the world's population to achieve global herd immunity, which will require at least 11 billion vaccine doses. The world needs faster vaccine production and distribution for global public health and economic recovery.
Leaders' commitments and promises to increase the vaccine supply abound. I have been heartened by the string of positive news. As recent as July of this year, some leaders of APEC member nations, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, pledged to increase vaccine supply.
Last October, India and South Africa proposed that the World Trade Organization (WTO) suspend intellectual property rights for all COVID-19-related vaccines and treatments, in a bid to scale up global production and supply. WTO negotiations are underway for a waiver from certain provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, the global rulebook for intellectual property, for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19. Over 100 countries, including the United States, have expressed their support for the TRIPS waiver.
