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How Bilateral Trade Agreements Are Obstructing the Global Vaccination Process

How trade deals complicate vaccine access for poorer countries.

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The current vaccine rollout that is going strong throughout the country is largely the result of multi-billion dollar deals struck between economic powers like the U.S. and U.K. with pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Moderna. But while bilateral trade agreements across the globe allowed for the largest vaccine rollout in history, this video looks at why these deals are also delaying the vaccination process in struggling countries like Brazil and India.

Questions:

  1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of bilateral trade agreements when it comes to developing vital goods such as vaccines?
  2. How are organizations like Covax working to fix the global disparity in vaccine distribution?
Author: NickelsMcHughMcHugh