Open AccessCOVID-19 and the Antipoverty Vaccines
Author(s) -
Peter J. Hotez
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
molecular frontiers journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2529-7333
pISSN - 2529-7325
DOI - 10.1142/s2529732520400027
Subject(s) - poverty , pandemic , latin americans , global health , economic growth , development economics , covid-19 , china , environmental health , political science , disease , health care , medicine , economics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , law
The number of global COVID19 cases has just exceeded 15 million, and there is mounting evidence for a devastating economic impact from this illness. Although COVID19 affected primarily China, Europe, and North America during the first half of 2020, now this disease is accelerating in the resource-poor nations of the Global South. Across Latin America, South Asia, and Africa, COVID19 is expected to push up to 100 million people into extreme poverty, eroding many of the economic gains achieved over the last five years. COVID19 vaccines will be required to help control the pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income nations. These will have important health benefits, but might also prevent further economic devastation. The term “antipoverty vaccines” has been used to refer to vaccines to prevent neglected tropical diseases that affect worker productivity, child development, and the health of girls and women. COVID19 vaccines could also become important antipoverty technologies provided we find ways to scale and distribute them as affordable vaccines. Two vaccines now being accelerated for global health include whole inactivated virus and recombinant protein vaccines. These might become essential tools for combating global poverty.