Once it became clear that wealthy nations would help themselves to coronavirus vaccines long before poorer nations had access, researchers across Africa, Asia and South America banded together with the World Health Organization. Never again, they vowed, would they allow themselves to be at the mercy of the Western world while a deadly pathogen tore through their regions.
They launched a sprawling initiative that included companies and institutes in 15 middle-income countries in the global south, the half of the world longing for coronavirus vaccines in 2021 even as wealthy countries stockpiled doses. The groups aimed to develop their ability to produce messenger RNA vaccines. The first vaccines would protect against the coronavirus. And after that, they hoped to generate mRNA vaccines against other diseases, including yellow fever, tuberculosis and whatever scary virus emerges next.
Now, two years after the initiative’s start, the market for coronavirus vaccines has dwindled, and governments have turned their attention to other emergencies, such as the war in Ukraine. But the groups involved with the project continue to push forward. Called the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub, a mouthful meant to reflect their intention to share mRNA technology, the initiative is distinct from the typical, competitive mode of drug development in which companies keep discoveries secret.
On a crisp, hillside lawn down the road from WHO’sGeneva headquarters, that agency’sproject coordinator reiterated the organization’s commitment at a side eventMay 23 at the World Health Assembly. He and others discussed ideas for how the hub would stay afloat after some $117 million in funds runs out.
The damage caused by global vaccine inequity in 2021 was still fresh on people’s minds in Geneva. One study estimates it caused more than 1 million deaths in the global south. It also resulted in lasting damage to already weak health systems and, some scientists asserted, gave rise to the delta and omicron coronavirus variants, as India and southern Africa faced unmitigated surges of covid-19.