The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccine Donations from HICs to LMICs at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP)

The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccine Donations from HICs to LMICs: A Document/Media Review

• The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted an enormous toll on both human life and economies throughout the world. Several safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines were developed at remarkable speed. However, global access to and implementation of these vaccines was unequal, with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa having particularly low vaccination rates.
• To improve equity in access to COVID-19 vaccines, low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) were left with three options: purchase vaccines from the global market (to the extent that they can afford it), access them through multilateral mechanisms, notably COVAX and/or receive them as donations from wealthier countries, either through multilateral mechanisms or through bilateral agreements. COVID-19 vaccine donations from wealthier to poorer countries can have major benefits. Yet, there is relatively little empirical information about the overall effects of such donations, including the predominant discourses by the media and the associated ethical issues.