May 2021

COVID Collaborative and three units at Duke University, together with leaders from the Center for Global Development and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, issued an open letter calling for urgent, high-level US leadership to address the global vaccine crisis. The Open Letter to the Biden Administration and US Congress Calling for Urgent High-Level Leadership to Address Escalating Global COVID-19 Vaccine Crisis calls for immediate action in five specific areas:

• Designate a clear leader to coordinate the US global response, leading to a robust and sustainable global strategy;

• Share vaccine doses now at the maximum amount feasible, while preparing for future needs;

• Strengthen and expand the manufacturing capacity for US-authorized and supported vaccines;

• Support distribution and delivery infrastructure, especially for low-income countries; and

• Commit to leading development and implementation of a comprehensive, sustainable, 5-year plan for long-term scale-up of global vaccine manufacturing capacity.

These steps will help mitigate death and suffering in the short term, chart a sustained exit from the COVID-19 pandemic in the medium term, and insure against another global pandemic in the long term.

Krishna Udayakumar joined Duke colleagues for a Duke media briefing, “What India’s COVID Crisis Means for the World.” Listen to the briefing. Krishna also co-authored an opinion piece in the MIT Technology Review, “What India need to get through its covid crisis,” which discusses how combating India’s COVID surge will require aggressive public health measures, emergency aid, and a major global ramp-up of vaccine production. Read the full piece here.