Law Commons^™

Equitable Allocation Of Covid-19 Vaccines: An Analysis Of The Initial Allocation Plans Of Cdc's Jurisdictions With Implications For Disparate Impact Monitoring, Harald Schmidt, Rebecca Weintraub, Michelle A. Williams, Alison Buttenheim, Emily Sadecki, Helen Wu, Lawrence O. Gostin, Angela A. Shen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Major global and national vaccine allocation guidelines urge planners to allocate vaccines in ways that recognize, and ideally reduce, existing societal inequities within countries. However, allocation plans of the US will be determined individually by each of the CDC’s 64 jurisdictions (states, the District of Columbia, five cities, and territories). We analyzed whether jurisdictions have incorporated novel approaches to reduce inequity, based on plans published by the CDC in early November 2020 (63 summaries [98% of all jurisdictions] and 47 full guidance documents [73% of all, including all 50 states]).

Eighteen states adopted a novel proposal to use a disadvantage …

FacebookʼS Latest Attempt To Address Vaccine Misinformation — And Why ItʼS Not Enough, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

On October 13, 2020 Facebook announced the adoption of a series of measures to promote vaccine trust “while prohibiting ads with misinformation that could harm public health efforts.” In the post written by Kang-Xing Jin (head of health) and Rob Leathern (director of product management), the company explained that the new measures were designed with an emphasis on encouraging widespread use of this yearʼs flu vaccine, as well as in anticipation of potential COVID-19 vaccines becoming available in the near future.

The changes focus mainly on the establishment of a multiprong informational campaign about the seasonal flu vaccine, which includes …

A Global Survey Of Potential Acceptance Of A Covid-19 Vaccine, Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Scott C. Ratzan, Adam Palayew, Lawrence O. Gostin, Heidi J. Larson, Kenneth Rabin, Spencer Kimball, Ayman El-Mohandes

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Several coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are currently in human trials. In June 2020, we surveyed 13,426 people in 19 countries to determine potential acceptance rates and factors influencing acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 71.5% of participants reported that they would be very or somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine, and 61.4% reported that they would accept their employer’s recommendation to do so. Differences in acceptance rates ranged from almost 90% (in China) to less than 55% (in Russia). Respondents reporting higher levels of trust in information from government sources were more likely to accept a vaccine …

Facilitating Access To Cross-Border Supplies Of Patented Pharmaceuticals: The Case Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Frederick M. Abbott

Scholarly Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into stark relief the gaps in global preparedness to address widespread outbreaks of deadly viral infections. This article proposes legal mechanisms for addressing critical issues facing the international community in terms of providing equitable access to vaccines, treatments, diagnostics, and medical equipment. On the supply side, the authors propose the establishment of mandatory patent pools ('Licensing Facilities') on a global or regional, or even national basis, depending upon the degree of cooperation that maybe achieved. The authors also discuss the importance of creating shared production facilities. On the demand side, the authors propose the establishment …

Facilitating Access To A Covid-19 Vaccine Through Global Health Law, Lawrence O. Gostin, Safura Abdool Karim, Benjamin Mason Meier

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

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 …

The Reemergence Of Vaccine Nationalism, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

This short essay explores the reemergence of vaccine nationalism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The essay traces the pre-COVID origins of vaccine nationalism and explains how it can have detrimental effects on equitable access to newly developed vaccines.

Why The Government Shouldn't Pay People To Get Vaccinated Against Covid-19, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

As several pharmaceutical companies approach the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorization to bring COVID-19 vaccines to market, concerns about vaccine mistrust cloud the prospects of imminent vaccination efforts across the globe. These concerns have prompted some commentators to suggest that governments may nudge vaccine uptake by paying people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This post argues that, even if potentially viable, this idea is undesirable against the backdrop of a pandemic marked by the intertwined phenomena of health misinformation and mistrust in public health authorities. Even beyond the context of COVID-19, paying for vaccination is likely to remain …

Vaccine Hesitancy: Experimentalism As Regulatory Opportunity, Ana Santos Rutschman, Timothy L. Wiemken

All Faculty Scholarship

This symposium on patient innovation has prompted us to explore problems related to departures from official vaccination schedules. At a time in which vaccine confidence has been plummeting across the world, we argue that a more granular understanding—and ultimately a more finely tuned regulatory framework—is needed to reflect the current behavioral heterogeneity among indicated patients who choose to forego or delay administration of recommended vaccines. In particular, we focus on a phenomenon we term “vaccine staggering:” a departure from vaccination schedules in the form of delays in receiving one or more vaccines, which is motivated by the desire to boost …

The Mosaic Of Coronavirus Vaccine Development: Systemic Failures In Vaccine Innovation, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

Scientists are racing to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus. While some vaccine candidates may enter the market in record time, the current vaccine innovation ecosystem exposes governance lacunas at both the international and domestic levels.