Opinion: Create a health impact fund to spur development and equitable use of a Covid-19 vaccine
Calls for rethinking our pharmaceutical innovation system are swirling in the headwinds and tailwinds of Covid-19. How do we accelerate the arrival of treatments and vaccines in adequate quantities? And how do we ensure that everyone can access those treatments and vaccines?
Wealthy countries have a moral obligation to ensure that vaccines and treatments are accessible to the poor as well as to the rich. Self-interest guides in the same direction: If SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate because vaccines don’t achieve adequate global penetration, it is more likely to mutate, potentially initiating a new pandemic.
