Success from the South: the rotavirus vaccine story and its lessons

Vaccine equity has been at the forefront of print, television, and social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Science, technology, and manufacturing brought the world multiple successful vaccines on a range of platforms and in quantities that were inconceivable at the start of the pandemic. Despite the triumph of scientists, the vaccine industry, and governments, vaccine nationalism trumped the efforts of WHO, which established a prioritisation framework for vaccination of clinically vulnerable populations, and the COVAX facility, which was intended to ensure that vaccines could be financed and distributed equitably around the world. Described as vaccine apartheid, the experience of delayed and low access to vaccines has led to calls for reparative justice and for moving away from short-term fixes of product donations to support local or regional vaccine manufacturing. 1 Privor-Dumm L Excler JL Gilbert S et al. Vaccine access, equity and justice: COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination. BMJ Glob Health. 2023; 8e011881 Crossref Scopus (4) Google Scholar The sharing of intellectual property and enhancement of regional capacity are now framed as moral imperatives against colonialism.