BBC World Service: Rolling out the vaccines faster
Following the call for an international treaty on Pandemic Preparedness in the future, it appears that the scale-up for vaccines has provided technical difficulties that can limit the pace of manufacture. Professor Trudie Lang spoke to the BBC World Service last week regarding faster vaccine rollout, explaining that apart from manufacturing capacity, countries across the world are ready to vaccinate their populations:
"[Countries] have quite organised systems and structures...they just don't have the budget per capita to spend as highly as we do".
While there are still countries without equitable access to the vaccine, further issues ranging from health to the economy will become even more entrenched globally. With so much expertise around the world, nations must work together. "It's not around handouts, it's more about working in a collaboration".
In terms of surveillance and detection of future pandemics, Professor Lang urges research to be embedded within healthcare delivery worldwide. This will build in surveillance into work and help people to spot things locally. "You can't helicopter in pandemic preparedness".
Listen (skip to 13:49 for Trudie's conversation)