Facilitating Access to a COVID-19 Vaccine through Global Health Law

Authors

Lawrence O. Gostin, Georgetown University - Law Center - O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health LawFollow
Safura Abdool Karim, SAMRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA at the Wits School of Public Health
Benjamin Mason Meier, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2020

DOI

10.1177/1073110520958892

Abstract

This column explores the global health law reforms necessary to progressively realize universal access to a future COVID-19 vaccine. We begin by explaining the importance of global health law in the distribution of essential vaccines as a determinant of public health. The column then turns to examine the human rights foundations of global health law, conceptualizing vaccination access as a universal human right. We find that it will be crucial to develop legal commitments to ensure vaccine access prior to a scientific breakthrough, analyzing the legal barriers that impede global access and the global health law reforms necessary to facilitate global solidarity.

Publication Citation

The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Vol. 48, Issue 3, at 622-626.

Scholarly Commons Citation

Gostin, Lawrence O.; Karim, Safura Abdool; and Meier, Benjamin Mason, "Facilitating Access to a COVID-19 Vaccine through Global Health Law" (2020). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2310.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2310