8 world leaders seek equal access to Covid-19 vaccine, Justin Trudeau says it will save lives

Calling vaccine as the “most powerful public health tool”, the leaders said in an article that they cannot allow its access to increase inequalities between or within countries.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined the world leaders in demanding equitable access to coronavirus disease vaccine when it is developed.

More than 100 Covid-19 vaccines are being developed and tested around the world. (Representative Photo/Reuters)

He co-authored an article on the issue along with leaders of Spain, New Zealand, South Korea, Ethiopia and three other countries which seeks cooperation from various countries in manufacturing and distributing a Covid-19 vaccine.

“Vaccines save lives. That’s why we’re working here at home and with partners around the world to find one. And when we do, we must keep working together to make sure that people everywhere have access to it - because where you live should not determine whether you live,” Trudeau tweeted on Thursday morning.

“We - @SahleWorkZewde, @MoonRiver365, @JacindaArdern, @CyrilRamaphosa, @SanchezCastejon, @SwedishPM, @ElyesFakhfakh, and myself - are calling on global leaders to commit to an equitable distribution of an eventual COVID-19 vaccine,” Trudeau said in the second tweet. The article (an opinion piece) has been published in the Washington Post.

Calling vaccine as the “most powerful public health tool”, the leaders said in the article that they cannot allow its access to increase inequalities between or within countries.

They also said that vaccine distribution, if managed successfully, will be a “cornerstone of strengthening multilateralism for the future”.

This comes a day after two frontrunners presented positive news on the Covid-19 vaccine front. A report said on Wednesday that University of Oxford’s potential Covid-19 vaccine is in large-scale Phase III human trials to assess whether it can protect against the coronavirus disease. The vaccine could be announced as early as Thursday, the report further said.

Biotech firm Moderna also sparked optimism on Wednesday by saying initial tests for its Covid-19 vaccine were a success. Moderna said it will enter the final stage of human trials for its Covid-19 vaccine on July 27.

More than 100 vaccines are being developed and tested around the world to try to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands and ravaged the global economy.