Inequitable by Design: The Law and Politics of Global COVID-19 Vaccine Access — And a Way Out

Abstract

U.S.-produced COVID-19 mRNA vaccines have been inequitably distributed globally. The development and production of new vaccines often result in preferential access for countries and populations that can afford them, rather than those in greater need. This distribution based on wealth instead of public health concerns is influenced by a patent culture in which intellectual property (IP) and complementary incentives shape drug development. The article argues that such a patent culture and the resulting drug development model stand in contradiction with the idea that IP rights promote innovation since these policy choices favor the consolidation of monopolistic power in the hands of a few private actors who control vaccine production and supply. The patent culture fundamentally neglects health equity as a foundational governing principle and commodifies access to healthcare. More equitable drug development efforts would rely on three guiding principles: public value, transparency and accountability, and inclusivity.

Note:
Funding Information: Yale Institute for Global Health and Yale University’s Fox International Fellowship at the MacMillan Center grants that supported this research project

Conflict of Interests: None to declare.

Keywords: Health Law, Health Policy, Health Equity, COVID-19 Vaccine, Intellectual Property, Patents, Patent Culture, Political Economy, Health Justice, Access to Medicine, Pharmaceutical companies