Vaccine Apartheid: A Human Rights Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity

In this paper, we analyse the inequity in current global vaccine distribution through the lens of international human rights law. First, we introduce the currently available COVID-19 vaccines, before discussing causes and consequences of vaccine inequity, as well as efforts to expand global vaccine access. We then turn to explain the relevant obligations of states regarding human rights to health, life, and equitable access to the benefits of technology. In light of those obligations, we assess the human rights compatibility of vaccine procurement and vaccine aid. After a discussion of the possible human rights responsibilities of the pharmaceutical companies that own the vaccines, we focus on whether a proposed waiver of global intellectual property rights in respect of COVID-19 vaccines is demanded under international human rights law. We conclude with a critique of failures in the international legal system, which may have rendered vaccine inequity inevitable