1
|
Kubin PRM. Vaccine Impact Bonds: An Alternative Way of Allocating the Economic Risks of Mass Vaccination Programs. HEC Forum 2024:10.1007/s10730-024-09530-9. [PMID: 38789857 DOI: 10.1007/s10730-024-09530-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Vaccines can be an appropriate tool for combating pandemics. Accordingly, expectations were high when the first Covid-19 vaccines were administered. However, even though the vaccines have not met these high initial expectations, vaccine manufacturers and their investors were making large profits, while most of the associated economic risks have remained with the taxpaying public. Thus, this paper applies the concept of social impact bonds to mass vaccination programs by conceptualizing vaccine impact bonds (VIBs) as an alternative to the advance purchase agreements (APAs) for Covid-19 vaccines. Rather than rewarding vaccine manufacturers and their investors based on the quantity of doses distributed, VIBs intend to link the real-world vaccine impact to the financial returns of vaccine manufacturers and their investors. This paper indicates that VIBs can theoretically shift the economic risks of mass vaccination programs from the taxpaying public to private investors, thereby aligning commercial and public interests. However, it also identifies several major weaknesses such as the complexity of defining and evaluating the vaccine impact as well as the inherent trade-off between relieving taxpayers (through VIBs) and allowing innovation. As these substantial drawbacks outweigh the theoretical strengths of VIBs, this paper calls for further research in order to identify better alternatives to the Covid-19 vaccine contracts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pascal René Marcel Kubin
- German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Freiherr-Vom-Stein-Straße 2, 67346, Speyer, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Williams BA, Jones CH, Welch V, True JM. Outlook of pandemic preparedness in a post-COVID-19 world. NPJ Vaccines 2023; 8:178. [PMID: 37985781 PMCID: PMC10662147 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00773-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic was met with rapid, unprecedented global collaboration and action. Even still, the public health, societal, and economic impact may be felt for years to come. The risk of another pandemic occurring in the next few decades is ever-present and potentially increasing due to trends such as urbanization and climate change. While it is difficult to predict the next pandemic pathogen threat, making reasonable assumptions today and evaluating prior efforts to plan for and respond to disease outbreaks and pandemics may enable a more proactive, effective response in the future. Lessons from the COVID-19 response and pandemic influenza preparedness underscore the importance of strengthening surveillance systems, investing in early-stage research on pandemic pathogens and development of platform technologies, and diversifying response plans across a range of tactics to enable earlier access to safe and effective interventions in the next pandemic. Further, sustaining the robust vaccine manufacturing capacity built because of COVID-19 will keep it ready for rapid response in the future. These actions will not be successful without improved global coordination and collaboration. Everyone, including the biopharmaceutical industry, has a role to play in pandemic preparedness, and working together will ensure that the most lives are saved in the next pandemic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Verna Welch
- Pfizer, 66 Hudson Boulevard East, New York, NY, 10001, USA
| | - Jane M True
- Pfizer, 66 Hudson Boulevard East, New York, NY, 10001, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Excler JL, Saville M, Privor-Dumm L, Gilbert S, Hotez PJ, Thompson D, Abdool-Karim S, Kim JH. Factors, enablers and challenges for COVID-19 vaccine development. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:bmjgh-2023-011879. [PMID: 37277195 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-011879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sense of vulnerability and urgency that led to concerted actions by governments, funders, regulators and industry to overcome traditional challenges for the development of vaccine candidates and to reach authorisation. Unprecedented financial investments, massive demand, accelerated clinical development and regulatory reviews were among the key factors that contributed to accelerating the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines benefited of previous scientific innovations such as mRNA and recombinant vectors and proteins. This has created a new era of vaccinology, with powerful platform technologies and a new model for vaccine development. These lessons learnt highlight the need of strong leadership, to bring together governments, global health organisations, manufacturers, scientists, private sector, civil society and philanthropy, to generate innovative, fair and equitable access mechanisms to COVID-19 vaccines for populations worldwide and to build a more efficient and effective vaccine ecosystem to prepare for other pandemics that may emerge. With a longer-term view, new vaccines must be developed with incentives to build expertise for manufacturing that can be leveraged for low/middle-income countries and other markets to ensure equity in innovation, access and delivery. The creation of vaccine manufacturing hubs with appropriate and sustained training, in particular in Africa, is certainly the way of the future to a new public health era to safeguard the health and economic security of the continent and guarantee vaccine security and access, with however the need for such capacity to be sustained in the interpandemic period.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Louis Excler
- Director General's Office, International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
| | - Melanie Saville
- Vaccine Development, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, London, UK
| | - Lois Privor-Dumm
- International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Sarah Gilbert
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Peter J Hotez
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Didi Thompson
- World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Salim Abdool-Karim
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jerome H Kim
- Director General's Office, International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
- Department of Life Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kim B, Petrakis BA, Sliwinski SK, McInnes DK, Gifford AL, Smelson DA. Staff and Veteran Perspectives on Residential Treatment Programs' Responses to COVID-19: A Qualitative Study Guided by the WHO's After Action Review Framework. Community Ment Health J 2023; 59:600-608. [PMID: 36318435 PMCID: PMC9628288 DOI: 10.1007/s10597-022-01038-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Healthcare must rapidly and systematically learn from earlier COVID-19 responses to prepare for future crises. This is critical for VA's Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs (RRTPs), offering 24/7 care to Veterans for behavioral health and/or homelessness. We adapted the World Health Organization's After Action Review (AAR) to conduct semi-structured small-group discussions with staff from two RRTPs and Veterans who received RRTP care during COVID-19, to examine COVID-19's impact on these programs. Six thematic categories emerged through qualitative analysis (participant-checked and contextualized with additional input from program leadership), representing participants' recommendations including: Keep RRTPs open (especially when alternative programs are inaccessible), convey reasons for COVID-19 precautions and programming changes to Veterans, separate recovery-oriented programming from COVID-19-related information-sharing, ensure Wi-Fi availability for telehealth and communication, provide technology training during orientation, and establish safe procedures for off-site appointments. AAR is easily applicable for organizations to debrief and learn from past experiences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bo Kim
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 South Huntington Avenue, 02130, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, 02115, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Beth Ann Petrakis
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, 200 Springs Road, 01730, Bedford, MA, USA
| | - Samantha K Sliwinski
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 South Huntington Avenue, 02130, Boston, MA, USA
| | - D Keith McInnes
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, 200 Springs Road, 01730, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, 02118, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Allen L Gifford
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 South Huntington Avenue, 02130, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, 02118, Boston, MA, USA
- Section of General Internal Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, 02118, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David A Smelson
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, 200 Springs Road, 01730, Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Avenue, 01655, Worcester, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|