The global economic cost of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism

Research brief by Marco Hafner et al. Rand Corporation. 2020.

Research brief by Marco Hafner et al. Rand Corporation.

2020.

RAND Europe sought to understand how vaccine nationalism would affect the global crisis once a COVID-19 vaccine is developed and examined the economic effects that could arise as a result of unequal access to the vaccine.

Key findings

  • Vaccine nationalism could cost the global economy up to $1.2 trillion a year in GDP.
  • As long as there is no vaccine against the disease, the global cost associated with COVID-19 and its economic impact could be $3.4 trillion a year.
  • If the poorest countries cannot access vaccines, the world could still lose between $60 billion and $340 billion a year in GDP.
  • For every $1 spent on supplying poorer countries with vaccines, high-income countries would get back about $4.80.
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