But the challenges don’t end after the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Distribution of the vaccines will be another crucial area and this will have to be based on “an equitable distribution that is agnostic to economic tiers”, said the SAPI vice-president. So far, 92 lower-income nations are seeking assistance via the COVAX facility, while another 80 higher-income nations have expressed interest. Singapore is among the countries that have submitted an expression of interest to procure COVID-19 vaccines through the facility.
Last month, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that countries putting their own interests ahead of others in trying to ensure supplies of a possible vaccine could make the pandemic worse, and called for an end to “vaccine nationalism”. Mr Pal would not comment specifically if any of the association’s members are carrying out experimentations of COVID-19 vaccines here, but he stressed that Singapore plays an important role in the global biopharmaceutical industry.