July 2021

Mark McClellan, Krishna Udayakumar, Mike Merson and Gary Edson co-authored an op/ed in The Hill, “Beyond ample supply, hurdles abound in the race to vaccinate the globe,” which cautioned that accelerating vaccine production alone is not enough to contain the pandemic globally.  The authors call for a US Emergency Plan for COVID Relief that would work with the countries with the highest burden of disease and the lowest vaccination rates in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa. This initiative could drive similar efforts by G7 and EU countries—and demonstrate US global leadership—by ensuring that vaccine pledges translate into life-saving vaccinations.

“In the coming months, as vaccine availability rises, vaccine delivery capabilities and vaccine hesitancy will become the critical bottlenecks to vaccinations in most countries,” they note.