Covid-19 Vaccine and International Relations: New frontiers of vaccine diplomacy

Abstract

The initial policy of the countries that developed vaccines has been to lock the vaccine by patent. This has been due to the fact that domestic demand for vaccine was mounting. Since only a few countries could invest in it, manufacturing and export remained at the behest of those few resulting in deep inequity in the global rollout. Pandemics are global health crises. Hence, calls for the patent waiver for the COVID-19 vaccine are growing to access the vaccine. The vaccine and its production, marketing and distribution have been politicized driven by the hegemonic aspiration. Both manufacturing and import-dependent countries are racing to win the diplomatic battle: the former has to win to gain hegemony and the latter to get the vaccine. Hence, the vaccine distribution has been marked with deep discrimination, and as a result, the migrant community is less likely to get their vaccine on time. This article engages in the decades-long debate over intellectual property rights and patenting life-saving vaccines. We argue that exemption of COVID-19 vaccines from intellectual property rights would improve global access and equity.

Citation

Ullah, A.A., Kumpoh, A.A.-Z.A. and Haji-Othman, N.A. (2021), "Covid-19 Vaccine and International Relations: New frontiers of vaccine diplomacy", Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEAMJ-01-2021-B1001