Addressing the Vaccine Gap: Goal-based Governance and Health Silk Road

Abstract

Our previous report Health Silk Road 2020: A Bridge to the Future for Health to All tracked the rapid development of the Health Silk Road. The year 2020 concluded with two Chinese vaccines being tested throughout 15 countries. In this study, we continue to track the H1 2021 development of the Health Silk Road with a focus on vaccine production and distribution of both Chinese vaccines and those manufactured in countries around the world.During this period of explosive vaccine production growth, both actual in 2021 and planned for 2022, there developed a significant gap between the dosages produced, versus those distributed and to which recipients. This is a world full of differences. But the people of all countries have a common expectation, that is, to work together to free the world from the shadow of COVID-19 and return to a normal track: normal social activities, normal economic activities, and normal international travels.In the first half of 2020, when COVID-19 appeared and broke out, some epidemiologists predicted that the epidemic would be effectively controlled in the summer of 2021 and the world would return to normal. However, we have not yet seen any signs of restoring order in the world in the second half of 2021. Indeed, after more than a year of hard work and trials, we have seen that the spread of the virus has been moderated, and the number of the infected patients has declined in some countries, which allows the world to see the dawn of the restoration of normal order. However, in recent months, the epidemic has suddenly spread rapidly again in certain developing countries such as in regions of Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. This shows that the effective containing of the virus in some individual countries can only provide an exemplary role, and cannot solve the problem of re-opening the borders between countries, nor can it guarantee the world back to normal order. If other countries lose the guard against COVID-19, the effective governance of individual countries cannot be sustained.