Rutgers Global Health Institute director Richard Marlink discusses the COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access) initiative and the need for a global response to the pandemic within the context of Venezuela’s efforts to obtain vaccines and release a vaccination plan amidst a power struggle between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó. The following excerpt is from the story published by Devex:
Initiatives such as COVAX, said Marlink, are created to guarantee that the whole world is “completing the race” against the coronavirus. Despite Venezuela’s political instability, making sure that the population is timely and effectively vaccinated is key to ending the pandemic.
“If we don’t stop this virus from replicating, we will not be able to stop the emergence of new variants of the virus that are showing to be both more contagious and, in the situation in Brazil, more deadly,” Marlink said. “We’ve got to get the virus under control in all countries. … In the end, we’re all on one planet.”
Read the full story at devex.com.