We have chosen flight over fight. Nations can choose to fight the war on COVID-19 by working together to vaccinate everyone in every nation or they can choose to cancel flights to nations that report new mutations.
As the virus spreads it will continue to mutate thus threatening every nation. Only 55% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Only 6% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. That leaves plenty of unvaccinated people for the virus to infect and kill.
Nations that feel they are safe because they are offering booster jabs are misguided. The virus is evolving faster that the global distribution of vaccines. The World Health Organization set a target for all countries to vaccinate 10% of their populations by the end of September 2021. 56 countries effectively excluded from the global vaccine marketplace were not able to reach this target, most of them in Africa. It is not rocket science therefor to guess that new mutations would crop up in Africa.
Most manufacturers have largely spurned the opportunities to share technology and know-how and public health-oriented licensing. The global failure to share vaccines equitably is taking its toll on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. New variants of concern mean that the risks of infection have increased in all countries for people who are not yet protected by vaccination.
When a hot spot emerges they should be bombed with huge supplies of vaccines, but instead borders are shut down and trade stops.