The Geopolitics of Vaccine Distribution

The American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, in collaboration with German firm BioNTech, surprised the world when it announced that its coronavirus vaccine showed 90 percent efficacy in preventing COVID-19. Days later, another American firm called Moderna announced that its vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective. And shortly after that, AstraZeneca announced that its vaccine was 62 percent to 90 percent effective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration dictates that vaccines be at least 50 percent effective to earn emergency use authorization, and most observers weren’t expecting vaccine candidates to perform much better than that. The reported results, therefore, were a pleasant surprise that excited governments and markets alike. The magnitude of this accomplishment cannot be overstated. Typically, the timeline from inception to regulatory approval of a new drug is about 10 years. After receiving approval, pharmaceutical firms then prepare for mass manufacturing, which itself could take another decade. However, thanks to a combination of factors – government programs like Operation Warp Speed, expedited regulatory approval and unprecedented global cooperation – the first batches of a COVID-19 vaccine from a trustworthy source will be delivered in less than a year. (China and Russia also claim to have created vaccines, but insufficient data […]