Vaccine security: 'No one is safe until everyone is safe'

The second batch of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines via the Covax Facility arrived in Kuala Lumpur on May 21, 2021. Covax was instrumental in helping many countries access Covid-19 vaccines in a more equitable way. — Pharmaniaga via Unicef

A phrase that was often quoted throughout the 2nd Vaccine Cooperation Forum in the Indo-Pacific Region held earlier this month (December 2022) was that “no one is safe anywhere until everyone is safe everywhere”.

As amply demonstrated by the Covid-19 pandemic, one small virus has the ability to wreck havoc across the world in a matter of months, thanks to our global inter-connectivity.