Abstract submission deadline: 1 August 2022  |  Manuscript submission deadline: 1 October 2022

Despite the unprecedented speed we have witnessed in scientific research and development to advance new vaccines and therapeutics from discovery to markets during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been business as usual in terms of equitable global access. As of March 2022, 72% of high-income countries were vaccinated, compared to just 14.5% of people in low-income countries.

The Social Science Working Group of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition has worked with Frontiers in Public Health to develop a special issue entitled “Exploring Innovative Models to Improve Vaccines and Therapeutics Equity During Epidemics”.

“Now is a critical moment to study the persisting structures that drive global inequity in access to vaccines and therapeutics during epidemics” 

The special issue, or Research Topic, has five topic editors from among the members of the Social Science Working Group, who note, “Embedded in a global health system that privileges richer countries over the poorer, COVID-19 vaccine inequity is one more example of how health is unequally divided, ultimately defined by pharmaceutical companies’ profits.”

The topic editors propose that given the continuing differences in health care access that have been illustrated by global inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, now is a critical moment to study the persisting structures that drive this inequity.
Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the topic editors are calling for abstracts across many disciplines that address the following themes:

• Explore and analyse COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics equity and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), including a TRIPS waiver, through interdisciplinary approaches;
• Collate perspectives on transforming current R&D and intellectual property paradigms in global health related to vaccines and therapeutics access during epidemics;
• Identify and explore alternative models for improving vaccine and therapeutics access to prepare for future pandemics.

The deadline for abstracts is 1 August 2022 and manuscripts are due on 1 October 2022. You can read more and submit your abstract here.