The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every country in the world. It has disrupted the lives of billions of people. The development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines have been positive. However, while some countries have secured billions of doses others struggle to obtain supplies. We’ve seen cases of “vaccine nationalism” as some countries hoard vaccines and make them available to their citizens and also “vaccine diplomacy” by countries using vaccine distribution to help others while advancing their standing in the international community.
On May 19, the ACG and 1014 hosted a discussion about taking a global approach to vaccine distribution with Thomas J. Bollyky, Director of the Global Health Program and Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter, Chair of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science at the Technical University Dresden, and Head of the Governance for Global Health Research Group at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB); and Dr. Moritz Rudolf, Associate in the Asia Department of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).