The $9.2 trillion cost of not sharing vaccines

“Vaccines available and affordable to all is not only a matter of fairness and justice but also a question of efficiency.”

António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

The $9.2 trillion cost of not sharing vaccines

The world’s richer nations have the privilege of widespread access to life-saving vaccines. But unless the whole world gets vaccinated the pandemic, and its crushing economic costs, will go on.

While wealthier nations are rolling out mass COVID-19 immunisation, there are countries that are yet to deliver a single dose – because they do not have access to the vaccines.

This inequality of access and distribution will not only cost lives – it will mean the pandemic lasts longer, as COVID-19 will continue to spread around the world, costing us more and more.

A study commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce has shown that sharing vaccines now will save money. The research shows that not sharing vaccines fairly around the world will cost $9.2 trillion to the global economy. This dwarfs the cost of funding a fair global vaccine rollout, coordinated by the World Health Organization.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has spoken about making vaccines a “global public good,” and has called the existing programmes “unequal and very unfair.”

The vehicle to get the world vaccinated and protected is here in the form of COVAX. Now, the political will, funding and collaboration of states and private sector partners is urgently needed to get the job done.

Everyone in the world shares a global economy and a COVID-19 frontline. #OnlyTogether can we ensure that our communities and our economies are resilient and strong.