Toward the Post-Pandemic World

By Zhong Cheng

After the scientific victory of de- veloping vaccines， stopping the COVID-19 pandemic is now financially and pragmatically feasible. The only obstacle now is a lack of international political will and cooperation.

Vaccine challenges

According to recent World Bank and International Monetary Fund （IMF） studies， to defeat COVID-19 countries need to aim to vaccinate at least 40 percent of their population by the end of this year and 60 percent by the middle of 2022. This will require upfront funding of $50 billion， not just pledges made at conferences. The reports add that funding should prioritize providing facilities for testing， treating and preventing infection as well as increasing the capacity to produce and distribute vaccines. Currently， poorer countries， including large parts of Africa， have a serious lack of access to vaccines， whereas some rich nations have secured an estimated 10 times their actual need.

To address this imbalance in vaccination， we must move beyond vaccine nationalism by increasing vaccine production capacity and distribution. The world should deliver the outcomes of the Global Health Summit at a faster pace， step up cooperation on vaccines， diagnostics and therapeutics， coordinate COVID-response efforts， and provide stronger support for developing countries. The World Health Organizations （WHO） effort in delivering the COVAX international vaccine sharing program needs to be supported to close the global immunization gap.

China has honored its promise of making vaccines a global public good. Despite the enormous need for vaccination at home， China has provided 480 million doses of vaccine to nearly 100 countries. Next， China will launch the Initiative for Belt and Road Partnership on COVID-19 Vaccines Cooperation to promote a fair international distribution of vaccines to build a global shield against the virus. It will also do its best to make vaccines more accessible and affordable to other developing countries.

Disparity in recovery

Recent evidence suggests some countries recover well， and others flounder. Economic activity is returning to full steam in countries that were relatively successful in fighting the spread from the outset， but many economies are likely to languish. Zambia and Argentina， for example， have already defaulted on their debt； Latin Americas economy contracted by 7.7 percent in 2020； the Philippines and India registered growth rates of minus 9.5 percent and minus 9.6 percent， respectively； and the World Bank estimates that up to 40 million people in Africa have been forced into extreme poverty.