Topic:
Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Andre Stoll
World Health Organization
Vaccine Equity and Access
The United States Of America
Andre Stoll
Forest Hills Eastern High School
Vaccines are a crucial part of mankind’s defense against diseases, immunizing billions of people against infectious diseases. According to the UN (United Nations), vaccines help prevent 2-3 million deaths every year. The first vaccine was invented in 1796 for smallpox, and since then many infectious and potentially deadly diseases have all but been eradicated by vaccines. Currently, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends vaccines for children for 18 types of diseases. The WHO (World Health Organization) recognizes vaccines as an inalienable human right, making the increasing number of humans unable to access vaccines extremely disturbing. Many impoverished countries do not have the means to bear the increasing financial burdens of producing and distributing vaccines, resulting in many people in those nations going without proper vaccinations. In 2020, the WHO reported that 23 million children missed crucial vaccinations, 3.7 million more than in 2019, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it has become increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic of the lack of understanding and knowledge of vaccines, which has resulted in many people distrusting vaccines. It is the obligation of the WHO in 2021 to come up with a solution to the growing problem of vaccine distribution inequality and vaccine education and misinformation.
The United States of America has understood the importance of vaccines for centuries and has invented many major vaccines, such as the one for polio or scarlet fever. The U.S. allows individual states to decide what vaccines to be mandated, and all 50 states require at least 5 vaccines for children to enter kindergarten, with some mandating even more. The U.S. currently has an ample supply of every vaccine for its citizens and has a near surplus of some vaccines, including vaccines for COVID. Despite the ample supply of vaccines in the U.S., it is not one of the leaders in the COVID vaccination rate, due to rampant misinformation and distrust of the vaccine. The U.S. government, knowing the importance of vaccines, has tried to increase the vaccination rate in the country through mandates and incentives. The U.S. is also dedicated to raising the number of vaccines in other countries. As of October 2021, the U.S. has donated 2020 million COVID vaccines to other countries and has pledged to donate over 1.1 billion COVID vaccines by 2022. The U.S. is dedicated to protecting its people and knows that while there is a deadly disease spreading, be it in the U.S. or outside the U.S., its people are at risk, with Joe Biden stating “we need to attack this virus globally, not just at home because it’s in America’s self-interest to do so,” on the subject of COVID-19.
The U.S. supports donating vaccines to impoverished countries that cannot afford vaccines for their country and will provide millions of doses for these countries. The U.S. also supports an increase in spending on education about vaccines, how they work, and why they’re safe.
