The Atlantic: Vaccine Nationalism Is Doomed to Fail
“After nearly a year of waging a ‘war’ on the coronavirus, many countries are poised to declare victory. … Many of these vaccines, and the ongoing trials for potential alternatives, have benefited from huge levels of government investment — much of it coming from wealthy countries determined to secure their spot at the front of the line for when the vaccines are finally ready. To that end, billions of doses were reserved before any had been approved for use, with many countries claiming enough to inoculate their population several times over. This ‘vaccine nationalism,’ in which countries prioritize their domestic needs at the expense of others, may have helped accelerate efforts to develop such drugs, but it is already showing its limits. With wealthy countries claiming the lion’s share of prospective doses for themselves, and with global efforts to equalize vaccine distribution facing enduring unilateralism and limited resources, a coronavirus vaccine returning the world to something resembling ‘normal’ could take considerable time — perhaps even longer than it needs to. … Without equal vaccine distribution, public-health experts warn, the pandemic could continue to live on residually for years, bringing with it even more death and further economic collapse. If the virus remains endemic anywhere, it will continue to pose a threat everywhere…” (Serhan, 12/8).

ABC (Australia): Indonesia receives 1.2 million doses of coronavirus trial drugs as China pursues ‘vaccine diplomacy’ (Xiao, 12/7).

AP: Morocco to kick off mass vaccination plan with Chinese drug (El Barakah, 12/8).

The Guardian: India’s biggest challenge: how to vaccinate 1.3bn people against Covid-19? (Dhillon, 12/8).

New York Times: The Kremlin Is Offering Russians Free Vaccines, but Will They Take Them? (Troianovski, 12/7).

Washington Post: U.S. sanctions could impede Iran’s access to coronavirus vaccines, experts say (Berger, 12/7).