Another Pandemic is ‘Evolutionarilyโ Certain,’ โคGavi CEO Warns, Highlighting Vaccine Access Challenges
WASHINGTONโ – The โworld โฃis “evolutionarily certain” to faceโ another โขpandemic, according to seth Berkley, outgoing CEO of Gavi, โthe Vaccine โขAlliance, who underscored the critical need for continued investment in vaccine development, manufacturing capacity, and equitable global access. โSpeaking โคon โขthe First Opinion Podcast, Berkleyโ detailed lessons learned from โขthe COVID-19 pandemic and outlined ongoing challenges in ensuring affordable vaccineโค availability worldwide.
Berkley highlighted โขthe unprecedented scale of vaccine production โachievedโค during the COVID-19 crisis, wiht 11 billion doses manufactured in โ2021 alone – a figure exceeding initial โpredictions. He creditedโค developing โขcountry manufacturers โคand contract manufacturersโค for significantly bolsteringโข global capacity. However, he cautioned that sustained effort isโ needed toโ maintain and expand this capability.
A โขkeyโ focus, Berkley emphasized, is driving down vaccine costs. โHe pointed to Gavi’s success in negotiatingโ prices for the 11 vaccines recommended โby theโค World Health Institution (WHO) forโค all children. โขwhileโฃ these vaccines cost approximately $1,300 in the United States,Gavi secured them for $24. “The challenge isโฃ to โtry to โcontinue to reduce thoseโฃ prices while keeping theโค quality up,” Berkley stated, “as of course what we ultimately wantโ are โcountries to โคpay forโฃ their ownโ vaccines.” He โenvisions this cost reduction benefiting not โขonly โthe poorest nations currently supported by โคGavi, but also middle- and even โขhigh-income countries facing budgetary constraints.
Berkley expressedโข particular satisfaction with the rollout of newโข vaccines,โข specifically citing the recent โintroduction of โฃa โmalaria vaccine.”Malariaโฃ isโค a โคdisease that is killingโข hundreds and hundreds of thousands of children every year,” he explained.โ “Seeing the lines of people lining up โto get the vaccineโฆfor every 200 children youโ vaccinate, you save a life. That’sโ pretty good.”
To support emerging manufacturers, Gavi is offering subsidies toโข enable โthem toโข compete for vaccine tenders. “We’llโฃ subsidizeโข those doses so thatโฃ you can compete in aโ tender for reasonable priced vaccines,” Berkley explained. “And ofโ course,โ eventually you’ll have to get thereโ on your own, but โขthis will giveโฃ you a legโ up during thatโ period and to try โคtoโ help encourageโค this work.”
the conversation โunderscored the importance of proactive preparation forโ futureโฃ pandemics, emphasizing thatโค affordable and accessible vaccines are a cornerstone of global health security.
