Abstract
Introduction: Vaccine inequality inflames the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring equitable immunization, vaccine empathy is needed to boost vaccine donations among capable countries. However, damaging narratives built around vaccine donations such as “vaccine diplomacy” could undermine nations’ willingness to donate their vaccines, which, in turn, further exacerbate global vaccine inequality. However, while discussions on vaccine diplomacy are on the rise, there is limited research related to vaccine diplomacy, especially in terms of its characteristics and effects on vaccine distribution vis-à-vis vaccine empathy. Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to examine the defining attributes of vaccine diplomacy and its potential effects on COVID-19 immunization, particularly in light of vaccine empathy. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to shed light on vaccine diplomacy’s defining attributes and effects in the context of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and dissemination. Databases such as PubMed and Medline were utilized for literature search. Additionally, to ensure up-to-date insights are included in the review, validated reports and reverse tracing of eligible articles’ reference lists in Google Scholar have also been conducted to locate relevant records. Results: Vaccine empathy is an individual or a nation’s capability to sympathize with other individuals or nations’ vaccine wants and needs, whereas vaccine diplomacy is a nation’s vaccine efforts that aim to build mutually beneficial relationships with other nations ultimately. Our findings show that while both vaccine empathy and vaccine diplomacy have their strengths and weaknesses, they all have great potential to improve vaccine equality, particularly amid fast-developing and ever-evolving global health crises such as COVID-19. Furthermore, analyses show that, compared to vaccine empathy, vaccine diplomacy might be a more sustainable solution to improve vaccine donations mainly because of its deeper and stronger roots in multilateral collaboration and cooperation. Conclusion: Similar to penicillin, automated external defibrillators, or safety belts amid a roaring global health disaster, COVID-19 vaccines are, essentially, life-saving consumer health products that should be available to those who need them. Though man-made and complicated, vaccine inequality is nonetheless a solvable issue—gaps in vaccine distribution and dissemination can be effectively addressed by timely vaccine donations. Overall, our study underscores the instrumental and indispensable role of vaccine diplomacy in addressing the vaccine inequality issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its potentials for making even greater contributions in forging global solidarity amid international health emergencies. Future research could investigate approaches that could further inspire and improve vaccine donations among capable nations at a global scale to advance vaccine equity further.
Highlights
Vaccine distribution is often unequal [1]
We reviewed two representative databases, PubMed and Medline, for potentially eligible articles, using keywords that are focusing on two themes: vaccine diplomacy and the COVID-19 pandemic
Though vaccine donations have the potential to bridge vaccine inequality across the globe effectively and efficiently, these timely rescues are often negatively referred to as and narrowly summed into “vaccine diplomacy”, often without offering a definition of the term [35,36,37]
Summary
Vaccine distribution is often unequal [1]. The answer to who should have nonessentials, such as the best piano in the world, could be reasonably varied, ranging from the richest, the luckiest, or the most interested to the best pianist. Similar to penicillin, automated external defibrillators, or safety belts, COVID-19 vaccines are, essentially, life-saving consumer health technologies [2] or products that should be available to those who need them in a timely fashion. This is true in light of the ever-evolving COVID-19 mutations, such as the Delta variant [3], which are situations that further highlight why vaccinations remain the most straightforward path into a post-pandemic reality [4]. Comes the rub: across the globe, especially in poorer countries [5], why is it that the world’s most vulnerable communities to the pandemic—the old, the immunocompromised, and the frontline workers [6,7], are not given the vaccines they urgently needed to fend off COVID-19 infections and deaths?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
