key: cord-0982114-790xkh4t
authors: Lomazzi, M; De Sousa, L; Amofah, G; Ricciardi, W
title: Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination: a distant dream?
date: 2020-10-07
journal: Eur J Public Health
DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaa190
sha: 356d01983455482db0eddd8316b1ffb2062a3f4b
doc_id: 982114
cord_uid: 790xkh4t

nan

around the development of an effective vaccine. The concern of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) and of the global public health community is the tendency for the rich to acquire and pay for the limited supply of available efficacious vaccines to the detriment of the at-risk populations in low income settings.

There are important lessons, unfortunately, that the world ought to have learnt from previous immunization programs. Even when effective vaccines are available, vulnerable persons in low income settings usually do not have access to these vaccines for some time, if at all. There is a myriad of reasons for this state of affairs. These include (among others) high cost of vaccination programs for countries, health systems, families, and individuals, an individual's poor geographical access to vaccination centres, and inadequate supply of available vaccines due to competition. This is why it is incumbent upon the international community to widen the process of coming together to support research and development of effective COVID-19 vaccines from multiple centres. The priority should be to establish a COVID-19 vaccination fund to support needy but resource-constrained countries. Although important efforts such as the COVAX facility are ongoing, the concern is that history has demonstrated how in similar circumstances the poorest are crowded out, even when they are the most vulnerable. In addition to the ethical dimension of equity, it should be clear that fair access to vaccination is the fastest way to eliminate the pandemic.

The World Federation of Public Health Associations, along with public health professionals globally, strongly supports and applauds the efforts of the World Health Organization to coordinate the response to COVID-19 and to develop an appropriate vaccine (4). This is why national authorities should financially support the WHO and invest in strengthening national health systems with a particular focus on sustainable immunization programs.

http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ejph As highlighted in the Global Charter for the Public's Health (5) , one of the key pillars of the health and wealth of nations is prevention, and more specifically within the COVID-19 pandemic context, primary prevention through effective and equitable vaccination. Vaccination is a global public good and a step closer to Universal Health Systems.

The COVID-19 crisis will have extensive and long-term global economic, political, cultural, and social consequences beyond the spread of the disease itself. Far-sighted plans and sustainable funding mechanisms are of utmost importance to manage and recover from the pandemic. Guaranteeing equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination is a fundamental step.

The World Federation of Public Health Associations has accepted financial support in the form of an untied grant for the International Immunization Policy Taskforce.

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