The COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access ( COVAX ) Facility was established early during the pandemic to support more equitable distribution of vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. Singapore and Switzerland co-chaired an unofficial Friends of COVAX Facility initiative to promote vaccine globalism. The country was a first admirer of COVAX.
However, such attempts were undermined by vaccination nationalism from high-income places. Rich countries had access to an excess of vaccine doses at prices that were beyond the reach of lower- and middle-income nations, leading to unnecessary extra suffering and deaths.
However, COVAX’s novel global vaccine prescription payment system also exists, with the required expertise and experience at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gavi has pledged to mobilize and deliver mpox vaccination doses to Africa.
The fact that the world is currently in a “last hour” during the previous mpox disaster can be seen as a failure.
After all, despite the PHEIC being lifted in May 2023 and the milder clade 2 mpox cases decreasing worldwide ( including in most African states ), a different situation was emerging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since September 2023, the prevalence of pox has increased significantly, mostly as a result of the genus 1b virus.
Although national security and global health security are complicated, there is an increasing need for places to collaborate in the interests of protecting health with each main pandemic.
The World Health Assembly, the WHO’s governing figure, in June strengthened the International Health Regulations relating to international planning and public health emergency response. However, a strong international pandemic agreement is still necessary, which has, regrettably, been postponed until 2025.