The distribution of vaccines, like the distribution of all other goods, is unequal.
Dr. Tedros, the Director General of the World Health Organization, tells us that wealthy nations are acquiring covid-19 vaccines and vaccinating their own populations at faster rates than are poor nations. Quelle surprise!
Tedros calls this “the inequitable distribution of vaccines.” Merriam-Webster defines “equitable” as “dealing fairly and equally with all concerned.” But “fairly” and “equally” often have nothing to do with each other. Indeed, they are frequently at odds.
Pharmaceutical companies based in rich nations develop the vaccines that the rest of the world uses. Rich nations certainly could subsidize the cost of providing vaccines to poor nations, but to expect rich nations to forego the opportunity of vaccinating their citizens as quickly as possible – in the name of global “equity” – is to misunderstand the nature and purpose of the nation-state. We expect our president to put the health of Americans first, just as we should expect the head of any other country to put the health of that country’s citizens first.
Young people in America should be glad that they do not have to wait to be vaccinated against covid-19 until all the older people in the world have first received their shot(s).