An unmatched challenge in scale and urgency

Since it emerged in late 2019, more than two million people are recorded as having died from Covid-19 globally and countless more have suffered, or are still suffering, with it. The accompanying restrictions, enacted to suppress its spread, have also proved debilitating to many aspects of ordinary life.

While in the short term, financial markets and many economies have arguably held up better than expected under a regime of on/off lockdowns, this way of operating is clearly unsustainable.

The mass rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is the only probable route to something more closely resembling normal life in the near future, and the foundation for economic recovery for badly affected sectors.

But while a global vaccine rollout is necessary, it will also be fiendishly complex. Global supply chains are being reconfigured at speed and vaccine distribution mechanisms need to set up on a scale never seen before. However, vaccine scepticism, fanned by misinformation online, could yet prove to be a barrier to immunising enough people.

It is also important that vaccine supplies are distributed fairly around the world and not just in developed nations. This is not only a moral imperative, but important to continued viral suppression at home — leaving certain countries behind will deepen the economic damage caused by the virus for everyone, while also leaving open the risk of further viral mutations in unprotected parts of the world, which could undermine the effectiveness of vaccines everywhere.

While the challenges are clear, thankfully there are causes for optimism too. Despite concerns about vaccine nationalism, Covax, a global facility for equitable vaccine distribution, says it is on track to hit its goals. Those involved in the scheme also believe it could form a blueprint for future collaboration on global crises. And, frankly, the fact there is little alternative to a successful vaccine rollout to end the Covid crisis should should be enough of a motivator.