Covax has failed to halt Covid-19 pandemic; here's how to fix it

In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 file photo, frozen vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are taken out to thaw, at the MontLegia CHC hospital in Liege, Belgium. [AP, Francisco Seco]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently called for an accelerated global effort to distribute vaccines to end the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a welcome step because past official statements by world leaders have fallen short of delivering specific policies to reach desperate populations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The IMF was also right to recognise that the cost of containing the Covid-19 pandemic is far less than the overall benefits for the global economy of full vaccine coverage. But it could have gone further by recognising that the inefficient vaccine allocation rules currently in place must be replaced by new cooperative institutional structures and more concrete steps by the Group of Twenty (G20) countries.