US public overwhelmingly support equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments

A YouGov poll, commissioned by Wellcome, reveals that over 8 in 10 (83%) adults in the US believe governments should work together to ensure treatments and vaccines can be manufactured in as many countries as possible and distributed globally to everyone who needs them.

These results are published as world leaders have passed a global resolution to widen access to treatments, vaccines and diagnostics, following World Health Assembly (18-19 May).

The poll of over 1,000 US adults also revealed: 

• Almost 7 in 10 (68%) oppose the idea that they should first be provided to those who can afford them. 
• Fewer than half (47%) support the idea that treatments and vaccines should be first provided to those in the country in which they are first developed. 
• Over two thirds (73%) think national governments shouldn't use treatments and vaccines to gain an upper hand in trade or diplomatic negotiations.
• Half (50%) believe that if a treatment or vaccine is first discovered in the US, it should be made available around the world as quickly as possible, even if that means some people in the US don't get it first.

In the global effort to find a COVID-19 vaccine, research is happening at an unprecedented pace. With over 100 possible COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development, these polling results reveal public support for ensuring that new vaccines are made available to those who need them the most.

Alex Harris, Head of Global Policy at Wellcome, said: “We need vaccines and treatments that will work for the world, and any advances must be available to all countries equally, without exception.

“Equitable access cannot be achieved by one organisation or one country alone. It requires collective action on a global scale, with each country that has manufacturing capacity prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable everywhere. No country should consider reserving possible future vaccines and treatments for their use only. These results clearly show that this approach would not be supported by the people of the US.

“No matter where they are developed or who funded them, all tests, medicines and vaccines for COVID-19 need to be available and affordable to everyone in the world who needs them.”