More than three million people across the globe have died of COVID since the Pfizer vaccine was approved. While the US has enough shots to vaccinate its population three times over, a significant portion of lower-income countries have less than 5% of their residents vaccinated. Scientists have argued that ensuring more doses abroad may not only save lives, but also provide important protection in the US against new waves of the virus in the future.
At the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden emphasized the US’s commitment to distribute vaccines to countries in need and encouraged other leaders to do the same. However, many experts say donation or distribution efforts alone fall short. This panel will investigate what can be done to overcome the lack of global vaccine access, by increasing the supply available in the short term, and explore options to ensure better preparedness for years to come.
Joining us will be David Kessler, head of the Biden Administration’s version of Operation Warp Speed, who has responsibility for the the manufacture and distribution of COVID vaccines, and advocates from around the world who are focused on ending the vaccine shortage.
The panelists:
Fatima Hassan, Founder, Health Justice Initiative
Dr. David Kessler, Chief Science Officer of the White House COVID-19 Response Team
James Krellenstein, Co-Founder, Prep4All
Zain Rizvi, Law & Policy Researcher at Public Citizen
This event is part of a joint series between the LPE Project and the Global Health Justice Project.
In the press
“Democrats urge White House to consider sharing Moderna technology” (The Washington Post)
“Biden admin warns Moderna to “step up” global vaccine supply” (Axios)
“Biden official warns Moderna to ‘step up’ on vaccine doses for the world” (The Hill)
***image used for this event by Daniel Schludi