Now I’m sure we have all heard of the Space Race era of the 1960’s between the United States and the Soviet Union. This was a time in which technological advancements in regards to spaceflight were being challenged. Now fast forward to the present year, 2020, when we have entered into a race to find the COVID-19 vaccine. None of us expected or predicted such a pandemic to occur in the first place; however it has started a global race. We all wonder, who will receive the vaccine once it is discovered? Is it strictly reserved to the elites? Government officials? Specific countries? Well, this is where the discussion of COVAX comes into place. COVAX is a global initiative put in place for multiple countries to receive access to the potential vaccine for COVID-19. You may be wondering, what’s the problem with this initiative? How is it a race if countries would be working together? Why won’t everybody join? Many concerns come about as some governments don’t really trust other governments during such unprecedented times. One of the biggest concerns on why countries don’t want to be a part of COVAX is because of export restrictions. This is because there is no guarantee that a country wouldn’t impose export restrictions if they were to find the vaccine first. Failing to share can be very detrimental but some countries believe it’s safer to save funds and buy dosages for your own citizens instead of joining this “scheme.” In my opinion, unless countries want to be in a permanent lockdown and remain in our current condition then they need to start working together.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter.