Vaccine Equity and Access

Topic:
Country: Kenya
Delegate Name: Will Allen

Worldwide over 3 billion people have been filly vaccinated for COVID 19. Many developed countries, such as the United States, have a population which is majority vaccinated. However in a underdeveloped country such as Kenya, it can be a challenge for the majority of citizens to get vaccinated. This is a problem because citizens in an underdeveloped country don’t have access to the healthcare that other countries have

Out of a population of 53 million, only about 2.4 million are fully vaccinated according to Our World Data. Once you do the math, that is only 4.5% of the population in Kenya fully vaccinated. This is a problem because in a semi-developed country such as Kenya, 36% of the population lives below the international poverty line. This can make it very difficult for many Kenyans’ to receive th eproper healthcare, and receive the vaccine. According to AXIOS, over 50% of unvaccinated individuals live in a place with a household income of less then $50,000 USD. The average housheold income in Kenya is ~$28,000 USD, which directly correlates to the low vaccination rates in certain areas on Kenya. Lack of access to vaccines is an issue as well. Even is densely populated cities, such as Nairobi, with a population density of over 6,000/sq km, still have troubles witht the access to the vaccine, with only 22% of the city being fully vaccinated.

Something we could do about this is make vaccines more readily available in easier to access places, such as local clinics or pharmacies, instead of being most readily avaibliue at big hospitals in the most populated city in each province, distribute them to local clinics in smaller, more rural cities. This can stop the spread of COVID-19 because smaller cities will be fully vaccinated, preventing spread in those communities. Adding them to clinics in suburbs of bigger cities in beneficial too, as people working in dense work spaces can easily spread disease. Giving everyone accses is very benefical because it can and will prevent the spread everywhere.

Our goal in this is to make vaccines more avalible to everyone, whether they live in a densely populated city, or in a small time hundred of kilometers away. Doing this can help us create a healthier and safer country and help stop the spread of COVID 19.

Country: Niger
Delegate Name: Thomas Laidlaw

WHO— Niger— Laidlaw

Delegate Thomas Laidlaw
Forest Hills Central
The Republic of Niger
World Health Organisation: Climate Change and Infectious Disease

In Niger, climate change has severely affected the spread of infectious disease on a mass scale. Starting back in 2015, the spread of ebola showed imminently that climate change plays a factor in infectious disease. The diseases are able to exist for extended periods of time due to the warmer temperatures and favorable climates. The country of Niger would look favorably upon a solution that works to stop the warming of the climate and therefore puts an end to the proliferation of infectious diseases. We need vaccines to help stop these diseases from becoming a bigger issue than it already is.

In our country, many diseases have been worsened by the extreme climate that is caused by climate change. It has heated up our temperatures and allowed diseases to survive in times where the conditions previously would not allow them. This can be seen by the spread of ebola and malaria between our citizens. The diseases are able to survive longer due to the rising temperatures. We need vaccines to end this issue and we need to see these from developed nations and economically stable nations.

The blame for this issue lies upon the economically stable world. They have paved the way for their financial upturn by ruining our climate through emissions coming from their factory sectors. We want to increase regulations on production and greenhouse gasses for the survival of our great country.

As we said, we would like to see serious reparations from the developed world because of their pollution of our environment and therefore the pollution of our world. They have caused danger to our people and we wish to see extreme counter-measures taken by these countries to correct their wrong-doings. They have created a world in which our citizens are in danger of infectious disease and refuse to recognize their responsibility.

We want to write a plan that includes reparations for the African world and sees a plan for climate change. This needs to be taken as an utmost priority because of what it has done to our people.

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.

Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: Jeb Cazer

World Health Organization
Vaccine Equity and Access
Ukraine
Joseph (Jeb) Cazer
Forest Hills Eastern

Vaccination is a highly effective health tool that can prevent infections and the spread of illnesses. Vaccines, like the one designed to combat COVID-19, have been encouraged for all to use. However many of those who desperately need to access these life saving vaccines have not been able to. Even some who are able to access these vaccines actively refuse to do so due to stigma about what’s inside of a vaccine and scepticism over governments putting unfamiliar objects into their bodies.

Ukraine has suffered much from the COVID-19 pandemic. With 80,000 COVID deaths, and 3,000,000 reported cases, the pandemic has certainly taken its toll on the people, economy, and overall well being. Ukraine is in desperate need of aid in terms of vaccines. The Ukrainian government has taken the pandemic very seriously. Enforcing lockdown until at least december 31st, masks mandatory in public places, and fines if citizens do not comply with the rules. The Ukrainian government has approved the use of the AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, and Pfizer vaccines in Ukraine, yet so far only about 23% of ukraines population has been fully vaccinated thus far. This is well below the desired result this far into the pandemic. It is very hard for Ukranians, many of which are lower income to find access to the vaccine. One reason that COVID has been so hard on Ukraine is that mostly only the wealthy are getting access to the vaccines that are coming in. Many of Ukraines poorest people are living in densely populated urban areas, in which the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is very high, as well as the risk of becoming very ill from it. Many other poor Ukrainians are farmers living in rural areas far from close vaccination spots. The people who live here may be especially sceptical of the vaccine as they aren’t as closely tied to all of the news around it.

What Ukraine wants the United Nations and specifically the World Health Organization to do is to. Ukraine needs a heavy supply of COVID-19 Vaccines, in order to be able to get it every citizen, regardless of race, class, or ethnicity.

Country: Argentina
Delegate Name: Cooper Dlugos

Delegate Name: Cooper Dlugos
Country: Argentina
Topic: Vaccine Equity and Access
Committee: World Health organization
School: Forest Hills Central

With help from surrounding countries we have had access to great amounts of vaccine resources to diversify our citizens in their immunization portfolio. With the use of vaccines we have driven down the rates of positive cases in every sector of viruses. Help from the United States and diplomatic relations have led us to a solution of vaccine imports. The U.S. graciously sent 3.5 million doses of vaccines on July 16 of 2021. The use of vaccines and the importance of vaccine equity is such a significant piece of fighting a deadly virus. Later on in the year the favor was returned to another country who was suffering high positive cases. On November 23 of 2021 our Embassy in Maputo Mozambique donated 450,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to fight against the devastating effects of Covid-19. This was the largest single donation of vaccines to be received by Mozambique as well as the first consignment sent by Argentina to other countries that are facing an urgent need for more vaccines to increase vaccine equity. During the recent G20 Summit we were inspired by the acts of other countries to increase the equitability and access of underdeveloped countries for vaccines. This effective response of solidarity against the pandemic will not only strengthen communities who are suffering but bring together nations in helping each other for the mutual benefit of this world.After this great donation sparked by the generosity of the United States we are focusing on an aide program to supported countries in a critical state in regards to the effects of the Coronavirus.
As a representative of Argentina I plead to my fellow delegates that they follow in the footsteps of the vaccine aid programmes setup by the United States and Argentina. If you have already aided a country in need of an increase in vaccine equity or previously attended the M60 summit I along with all of the countries who have been aided thank you. For those who have not set up a mutual aid program I ask that you consider donating vaccines to countries nearby to help lower the curve of positive cases. I hope we as delegates of our countries use this time well and make decisions that will benefit humanity and structure a smooth path for future generations to reap the rewards of our Burdens.

Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: Delaney Parkin

As the COVID-19 Pandemic is currently a very large and widespread issue, vaccine equity has become a top priority for many countries. Many families during the pandemic have had to stay in quarantine for long periods of time, since many of them are immune-compromised. This means that contracting covid-19 can lead to severe health complications and in severe cases, death. Having easy access to the vaccine means that these families can start to come out of quarantine and go back to work. During the pandemic the number of low income jobs that involve more exposure have decreased due to the fast spreading virus. Many jobs such as cleaning and cooking cannot be done without a high risk of exposure to the virus, And thus, the vaccine allows these people to go back to work and make money to pay for their basic health needs .
Vaccines can be defined as biological preparations that help improve the body’s immunity to a disease, by exposing the body to the disease without the anger of the live disease. The World Health Organization has been committed to the equal distribution of vaccines worldwide during the pandemic. There are many economic, social, geographic, and political factors that contribute to the unequal distribution of vaccines; some of which include job access, healthcare access, transportation, education, income, and wealth gaps. There is also a lack of trust in certain minority groups due to past traumas and medical experiments. Vaccines are one of the best tools the world has to help prevent the general public from diseases.
The United Kingdom has given 548 million pounds in funding to the Covax initiative, which ensures that over 170 countries have fair and early access to the COVID-19 vaccines. Covax aims to provide vaccines to twenty percent of populations in low income countries by the end of this year. The United Kingdom has also been vaccinating their populations much faster than they were expected to. For many countries, the United Kingdom leads as an example of how a more developed country can create vaccine equity. Along with this, the United Kingdom has also tried to negotiate cease-fires in war zones to allow peacekeepers to bring vaccines to those populations. Currently in England, over 90 percent of the population lives within 10 miles of a vaccine center. The UK government has established a vaccine task force which has created an approach to the vaccine distribution so the development of the vaccine development takes place quickly, without compromising safety standards.
The United Kingdom plans to continue to donate funding to lower income countries and harder to reach areas of the world. They plan to locate more vaccine centers to one hundred percent of the population in the United Kingdom and promote equal distribution and access to the vaccine. Being a large, dominant country, the UK can use its high rankings to its advantage to inspire other lower ranking countries to follow suit to the United Kingdom. The UK in most cases, believes that the United Nations does have depending on the situation. For example, in cases of mass genocide or world war, the UN should have the right to intervene and help the countries involved resolve and stop the conflict. The United Kingdom however, believes that the UN does not need to intervene on individual countries if it is not something that is big and will affect the world on a global scale. This includes protests, and politics/elections. For this topic of vaccine equity and access, the United Kingdom will most likely agree with the United States of America, Canada, and/or France.

Sources:
https://glica.org/glimun-2021-conference/glimun-2021-committees/vaccine-equity-and-access/
https://glica.org/glimun-2021-conference/glimun-2021-committees/vaccine-equity-and-access/
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-covid-19-vaccines-delivery-plan/uk-covid-19-vaccines-delivery-plan

https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/a-new-commitment-for-vaccine-equity-and-defeating-the-pandemic

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-vaccine-equity-is-much-more-important-than-vaccine-passports/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-021-00323-6

Country: Tunisia
Delegate Name: Shriya Reddy

Vaccines are important because they have the ability to improve immunity of a disease without exposing anyone to the danger of the disease and the access of them are equally as important because it can insure better protection for vulnerable populations. There is a severe increase in death rates because wealthier countries have access to the vaccine and are not sharing the access to the impoverished countries. July 2021, many officials warned people that the health system was close to collapse due to an acute wave of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Government officials suspended all travel, imposed mandatory confinement, and banned public gatherings. The World Health Organization is tasked with expanding vaccine education, data-sharing, and vaccine distribution.

Tunisia is suffering tremendously from the Covid-19 outbreak because of the lack of access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Tunisia has reported Africa’s highest per-capita infection rates.
The vast majority of the Tunisian population remains unvaccinated and individuals with a high risk of contracting COVID-19 are left unprotected. By placing health workers and people above the age of 60 in the first priority group, people who didn’t fit the requirement suffered immensely. For example, people below the age of 60 who are extremely vulnerable because they suffer from chronic diseases, people who live in poverty, people who have disabilities, homeless people or prisoners, and people who don’t have access to healthcare services have higher risks of experiencing death or severe illness as a result from contracting COVID-19. Furthermore, there was a serious problem with public trust regarding the distribution of vaccines equally. In April 2021, Mofdi Mseddi, the advisor to the Prime Minister in Tunisia, admitted that several ministers had been vaccinated without being eligible, and in order to be eligible at that time, people had to be older than 60 years of age or they had to be a healthcare worker. This made the public start to question the government’s motives. They wondered if they would distribute the vaccines fairly without political interference. They also called into question the government’s commitment to prioritize those most at-risk and to guarantee all people’s right to health.

Tunisia was one of the first countries in the Middle East and North Africa to successfully contain the coronavirus outbreak. Tunisia’s success in dealing with the pandemic can be attributed to a combination of factors including an effective government response, citizens’ trust in the government, a relatively strong healthcare system, and public awareness of the dangers of the virus. Tunisia wants all countries to be given the same vaccine and they should all have equal access. Tunisia should publish data that is disaggregated in a transparent and accessible manner because the lack of transparency of vaccination prioritization makes citizens perceive it as favoritism. A deficit of public trust can turn into increased vaccine hesitancy.

Country: Russian Federation
Delegate Name: Meg Gierula

Russian Federation
ECOSOC
World Health Organization
Vaccine Equity and Access
Meg Gierula
Royal Oak High School
The Russian Federation recognizes the COVID-19 pandemic and the strain it has put around the world. We send our deepest condolences to all those affected by the virus. The Russian Federation believes that vaccines can help to prevent COVID-19. We have dedicated time and money to help lessen the amount of COVID-19 cases worldwide.
In August 2020, the Sputnik V vaccine became registered for usage. This vaccine was one of the first produced to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Russian Federation has provided this vaccine to our people and other nations. Currently, 40% of our nation is vaccinated against the virus. Additionally, we have provided the vaccine to Argentina, Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Philippines. In the end, however, the Russian Federation believes that it is a choice to get vaccinated against COVID-19. There was a mandate posed on certain professions, but we do not see that fit for all people. We see that a country-wide vaccine mandate would cause a negative relationship between us and our citizens.
The Russian Federation additionally recognizes that other vaccines have been forgotten about due to the prevalence of COVID-19. The Russian Federation wants to continue to support our citizens with other vaccines despite the pandemic. This is considered a struggle due to the pre-existing battle for vaccines in the world. We want to confirm our nation is prepared and healthy before continuing to help outside nations. The Russian Federation wants to make an effort to help other nations if they request.

Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Aubrey Winczewski

Vaccines are important to ensuring the health safety of communities by preventing the spread of infectious disease and viruses. Immunizations have prevented 2-3 million deaths each year from 20 deadly diseases. The United Nations (UN) recognizes vaccines as an indisputable human right as written in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since 1974, the World Health Organization has been dedicated to the fair and equal distribution of global vaccines through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), which has become the UN’s primary method for global vaccine distribution. Even with equitable distribution goals in mind however, there have been increasing inequities between UN Member States receiving vaccines because of the greater financial burdens of new vaccines. This has been clearly seen with the distribution of the vaccines against the COVID-19 virus that has caused an ongoing global pandemic. Wealthier countries have been able to supply booster shots (a second or third dose of the vaccine) to their citizens, while poorer countries may not have twenty citizens even partially vaccinated. It is imperative that the United Nations address these inequities in order to uphold people’s right to receive vaccines and be healthy. Additionally, with how mobile our world is, all corners of the globe need access to vaccines in order to stop the spread of viruses like COVID-19 while allowing people to travel freely.

Germany is one of the wealthier countries, and has been able to fully vaccinate 74.7% of its adult population (age 18 and up) as of late September 2021. With that success, Germany also acknowledges that “no one is safe, unless everyone is safe”, meaning all countries need the vaccine in order to truly end the pandemic. Germany is a key country in COVAX, which aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. COVAX is offering doses for at least 20% of countries’ populations. Germany has donated over 59 million vaccines to COVAX and is the second-largest donor worldwide. Including but not limited to COVAX, Germany plans to donate at least 175 million vaccines to newly industrialized and developing countries. In addition, Germany and the European Union are working to promote vaccine production, particularly in Africa, in order to secure long-term healthcare. Germany is also contributing 100 million euros for a “humanitarian buffer”, from which vaccines are to be supplied for people such as refugees, who are not covered by national vaccination plans.

Germany urges additional economically advantaged countries to support and donate vaccines to COVAX in order to help the 92 low-income nations seeking assistance. Furthermore, Germany looks for a resolution enabling vaccine distribution and access for all countries, as well as helping developing countries to produce vaccines themselves. In order for everyone to be safe from COVID-19, all countries must have an available vaccine for their citizens.

Country: Nigeria
Delegate Name: Emma Martin-Sharples

The equitable distribution of vaccinations has been recognized by the UN as an indisputable human right. The World Health Organization is committed to global vaccine distribution. This is supported by Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stating that it covers the rights those have to sanitation, medical care, and social protection. According to WHO, 23 million children did not receive critical vaccinations due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as of 2020. The growing inequities in vaccine distribution in many countries is caused by the financial burden new vaccinations create. The distinct connection between wealth inequality and vaccine inequity as well as the unique needs of individual countries for protection and distribution of vaccines have led to immunization gaps. In order to address these gaps, WHO must expand data-sharing and develop vaccine education while also considering which social and economic barriers prevent certain countries from gaining fair vaccine distribution.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has struggled with gaining equitable access to vaccines. Although vaccinations have been developed for 20 deadly diseases, Nigeria has been continuously neglected in the distribution of these vaccines. Contributing to its low vaccination rates is Nigeria’s high impoverished population. Around 39% of wealthy and 5% of poor children have received complete immunization from diseases whose vaccinations are eligible for youths. As of 2020, 40%, or 83 million Nigerians, were reported to be living in poverty. This number is estimated to raise to 90 million in 2021. These rates have led Nigeria to be the second-worst-hit African country by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Africa accounting for less than 2% of all COVID-19 vaccines administered worldwide. Nigeria’s public health systems have been severely impacted with high unemployment rates and doctor strikes. With around 213,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, Nigeria’s people are in dire need of more vaccines.

Countries with higher poverty rates are in need of equitable vaccine distribution. To overcome these economic barriers, Nigeria and other third world countries must seek help from wealthier countries in receiving medical care for their citizens. By raising money from other countries, Nigeria could transport more affordable vaccinations to its people and decrease the effects of the pandemic. Reducing the spread of infectious diseases globally is beneficial for a population’s health and a country’s economy. If wealthy countries like the USA and Germany donate money and vaccinations to third world countries, it would allow countries like Nigeria to obtain quality health services without suffering financial hardship.

Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: Delaney Parkin

Country: United Kingdom
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic: Vaccine Equity and Access
Delegate: Delaney Parkin
School: Williamston High School

As the COVID-19 Pandemic is currently a very large and widespread issue, vaccine equity has become a top priority for many countries. Many families during the pandemic have had to stay in quarantine for long periods of time, since many of them are immune-compromised. This means that contracting covid-19 can lead to severe health complications and in severe cases, death. Having easy access to the vaccine means that these families can start to come out of quarantine and go back to work. During the pandemic the number of low income jobs that involve more exposure have decreased due to the fast spreading virus. Many jobs such as cleaning and cooking cannot be done without high risk of exposure to the virus, And thus, the vaccine allows these people to go back to work and make money to pay for their basic health needs .
Vaccines can be defined as biological preparations that help improve the body’s immunity to a disease, by exposing the body to the disease without the anger of the live disease. The World Health Organization has been committed to the equal distribution of vaccines worldwide during the pandemic. There are many economic, social, geographic, and political factors that contribute to the unequal distribution of vaccines; some of which include job access, healthcare access, transportation, education, income, and wealth gaps. There is also a lack of trust in certain minority groups due to past traumas and medical experiments. Vaccines are one of the best tools the world has to help prevent the general public from diseases.
The United Kingdom has given 548 million pounds in funding to the Covax initiative, which ensures that over 170 countries have fair and early access to the COVID-19 vaccines. Covax aims to provide vaccines to twenty percent of populations in low income countries by the end of this year. The United Kingdom has also been vaccinating their populations much faster than they were expected to. For many countries, the United Kingdom leads as an example of how a more developed country can create vaccine equity. Along with this, the United Kingdom has also tried to negotiate cease-fires in war zones to allow peacekeepers to bring vaccines to those populations. Currently in England, over 90 percent of the population lives within 10 miles of a vaccine center. The UK government has established a vaccine task force which has created an approach to the vaccine distribution so the development of the vaccine development takes place quickly, without compromising safety standards.
The United Kingdom plans to continue to donate funding to lower income countries and harder to reach areas of the world. They plan to locate more vaccine centers to one hundred percent of the population in the United Kingdom and promote equal distribution and access to the vaccine. Being a large, dominant country, the UK can use its high rankings to its advantage to inspire other lower ranking countries to follow suit to the United Kingdom. The UK in most cases, believes that the United Nations does have depending on the situation. For example, in cases of mass genocide or world war, the UN should have the right to intervene and help the countries involved resolve and stop the conflict. The United Kingdom however, believes that the UN does not need to intervene on individual countries if it is not something that is big and will affect the world on a global scale. This includes protests, and politics/elections. For this topic of vaccine equity and access, the United Kingdom will most likely agree with the United States of America, Canada, and/or France.

Country: Mexico
Delegate Name: Sreejay Ramakrishnan

World Health Organization
Vaccine Equity and Access
United Mexican States
Sreejay Ramakrishnan
Forest Hills Eastern

Throughout many nations, there is a rising gap of Health inequity- especially for vaccines. In 2020, the World Health Organization reported that 23 million children missed out on critical vaccinations due to the impacts of the pandemic, 3.7 million more than in 2019. Especially in low-income countries, vaccine access and equity are unfamiliar concepts. The wealth gap, racial discrimination, religion, language, ethnic group, and much more impact an individual’s ability to receive a safe and equal vaccine. It is important that vaccine distribution is safe, and earned public trust, especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The WHO carried out the “COVID-19 Immunization in Refugees and Migrants: Principles and Key Considerations Guide” in order to aid countries to carry out equal and efficient Covid vaccine distribution strategies among refugees and migrants, which have been historically medically discriminated and not equal. Vaccines promote a decrease in hospital rates with diseases for example with COVID-19. Vaccine Equity and Access are a worldwide issue because since diseases can spread between countries, it is important that the UN ensures that all countries promote equal access for vaccines in order to achieve a safer world. As stated in Article 25 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, vaccines are one among many rights that should be granted to everyone. The UN should ensure that every single country, receives equal vaccine access and allows equal vaccine distribution to people. This ensures a safer world community.

Over the past years, Mexico has taken avid action with vaccine equity and access. Even though Latin America has taken a severe hit by COVID-19, Mexico was the first country in Latin America to launch a COVID-19 vaccination program, vital to begin the country’s recovery and fight for access to vaccines and supplies. Mexico has been a very active and vocal country in promoting equitable access to materials, supplies, and especially vaccines against COVID-19. Last year, in 2020, before the United Nations General Assembly Mexico presented Resolution 74/274, which was supported by almost 170 countries in the world, to promote equitable access to all these solutions to combat this pandemic. Also, Mexico is the first country in Latin America to participate in the Directing Council of CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and we are also participating in the Council of ACT-A, which is the mechanism against COVID-19 established at the multilateral level by the World Health Organization. Mexico calls for access to vaccines in the world to be considered as a global public good and to consider all the necessary strategies so that their distribution can also include the facilitation of technology transfer for packaging and vaccine production on the five continents.

In a resolution, Mexico looks for equity in vaccine distribution, vaccines to be accessible for everyone who is able, and for all countries to receive vaccinations. All of which ensures that the world as a whole is safer and well protected against COVID-19 as well as other diseases.

Country: Japan
Delegate Name: Madison Gruber

The World Health Organization urges leaders to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session to guarantee equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and other lifesaving tools. Additionally, ensuring the world is equipped to respond to future pandemics and renew efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Vaccines are the most critical tool to end the pandemic and save lives. More than 5.7 vaccine doses have been administered globally. However, 73% of all doses have been distributed in just ten countries. Richer countries have administered 61 times more doses per inhabitant than poorer countries. The longer this vaccine inequity persists, the more the virus will continue circulating and evolving. The WHO hopes to vaccinate at least 40% of the population of every country by the end of 2021 and 70% by the summer of 2022. These targets are achievable if countries and manufacturers make substantial strides towards vaccine equity. Even as countries focus on ending this pandemic, the world must also prepare for future pandemics and other health emergencies. Through global unity, we will be able to put an end to this unruly pandemic.

Country: Colombia
Delegate Name: Aayush Sule

World Health Organization
Vaccine Equity and Access
Republic of Colombia
Aayush Sule
Forest Hills Eastern High School

Vaccinations are dead versions of diseases taken by people to create immunity against said diseases without facing the risks. From smallpox vaccines in 1796 to COVID-19 vaccines in the modern-day, vaccines prevent 2-3 million deaths every year. The United Nations endorses health, and by extension, vaccines as a human right. This right, however, is in jeopardy for many individuals due to the lack of vaccine access for many. Wealth inequalities coupled with the effects of the pandemic have caused 23 million children to miss out on vital vaccinations in 2020 alone. Refugees and migrants are especially vulnerable due to being medically neglected in many nations. To combat this issue, the World Health Organization created the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) as a vessel to deliver vaccines worldwide. Additionally, the Global Vaccine Action Plan, passed by the WHO in 2015, raised attention to inequities between countries in terms of vaccines. The World Health Organization must find a solution to protect this right.

While the Republic of Colombia has 66.68% of its population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is higher than the world average, Colombia needs help with getting other vaccines to everyone, especially the rural population. Colombia currently has a system in place where every citizen gets an ID number to keep track of each citizen’s vaccination status against various diseases. This is effective to keep track of vaccination data among citizens, but not migrants who have not received citizenship yet. Additionally, indigenous people are often faced with discrimination at medical facilities, and this extends to vaccines. Colombia has not done anything to combat this problem on a global scale, because Colombia is dealing with this problem as well.

Colombia believes that in order to solve this issue, the World Health Organization should create an organization tasked with creating a global database on the vaccination status of people considered to be in poverty. This database will then aid EPI and indicate which communities they should send vaccines to. This will allow the WHO to precisely pinpoint where action needs to be taken. Additionally, this will provide a valuable tool for international use in the future. This will require intensive international collaboration, but will only lead to a better tomorrow.

Country: Viet Nam
Delegate Name: Allison Bennett

Vaccine equity is the concept that vaccinations should be fairly distributed between people of all regions no matter their socioeconomic status. Sadly, vaccine equity is far from a reality. Bigger, rich nations bought more than enough vaccines to vaccinate their citizens several times over, While low and middle income countries can barely get enough vaccines to immunize their at-risk citizens. The WHO Strategy to Achieve Global COVID-19 Vaccination by mid-2022 plans to vaccinate 40% of the population of every country by the end of this year, and 70% by the middle of next year. WHO can only achieve their goal if the countries who control the vaccine supply put deliveries for COVAX and AVAT first. Vaccine equity will accelerate the end of the pandemic. Achieving WHO’s vaccine equity targets will protect health systems, enable economies to fully restart, increase immunity globally, and reduce the risk of new variants emerging.

Viet Nam’s overall vaccination rate for Covid-19 remains low with 28% having received one shot, and only 4% being fully vaccinated. A vaccine shortage forced the country to slow its vaccination program. To help cope with the vaccination shortage, Viet Nam’s health authority allowed people to get combinations of different two dose Covid-19 vaccinations. Health experts say this is most likely safe and effective, but they are still unsure and gathering data. Viet Nam has been using AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Sinophram, a chinese made vaccine. Viet Nam has produced Nanocovax, a Covid-19 vaccination candidate. The pandemic has greatly affected Viet Nam’s supply chains which led to 90 U.S companies, who are dependent on Viet Nam, writing to their President asking him to make more Covid-19 vaccines accessible to Viet Nam. Countries like Poland, Hungary, France, the Czech Republic, Romania and Italy have also donated Covid-19 vaccines and medical supplies to Viet Nam. Viet Nam has also had to urge WHO to send more vaccinations as Covid cases spiked.

Viet Nam applied to WHO to transfer technology that would allow Viet Nam to start producing mRNA vaccines, the model Pfizer and Moderna were developed on, locally. Nanocovax is currently in its third round of human trials which it was said to be safe and able to elicit an immune response but they have not accessed the vaccine’s protection efficacy. Authorities are expected to grant emergency approval for Nanocovax and if everything goes as planned Viet Nam should have its first domestic Covid-19 vaccine in the fourth quarter of this year. The UN could work on an agreement that if there’s a lack of vaccinations in the future to help divide the vaccines correctly among nations. The UN could also come up with a way to help fund the making of vaccinations in smaller countries.

Country: Pakistan
Delegate Name: teague ott

Diseases have been a problem for mankind since the beginning of the human race. However, for the past 220 years, vaccines have been used to counter the disease and save millions of lives. To this day, 17 deadly viruses have vaccines, but not everyone has access to this valuable resource. Pakistan, which is a developing country, does not have high access to important vaccines like the covid 19 vaccine. Only 40 million people are vaccinated in Pakistan out of 200 million people. Pakistan is a country that is in need of better access to common vaccines.
Pakistan currently understands the importance of getting vaccines out to the public and has been attempting to get 70 million people vaccinated by the end of 2021. To make this possible, Pakistan has donated 1.1 billion dollars to help acquire more vaccines. Pakistan’s government has passed a law in 2015 which encourages people to get vaccinated for common diseases like chickenpox or the flu. In 2021, the covid 19 virus is considered a threat, and people are encouraged to get vaccinated. As of this time, 36% of people have the first dose of the vaccine and only 21% of people have both doses. The UN has been attempting to make the vaccine available to everyone in the world which has only benefited Pakistan a small amount. The UN has provided Pakistan with 45 million vaccines.
Pakistan’s plan to have 70 million people vaccinated by the end of 2021 is the best course of action and the best method to have people get vaccinated by the end of 2021. There have not been any other countries that have given aid to Pakistan to help them fund vaccinations. However, countries have donated money to acquire more covid 19 vaccinations to allow people to get vaccinated easier and to allow more people to get vaccinated.

Position Papers for GLIMUN 2021 will appear above this line, with the newest being at the top.