COVID-19: The Geopolitics of Herd Immunity
Mass vaccination against COVID-19 identifies several groups of countries: rich countries with rapid vaccination; countries that develop and produce vaccines, but do not prioritize vaccination of their own population; and poorer countries that will only achieve herd immunity by 2022 or 2023.
The choice of vaccines is also a differentiating factor. The pursuit of herd immunity through vaccines reveals a real global geopolitical hierarchy.
Patrick Allard is a consultant at the Centre for Analysis, Planning and Strategy (CAPS), from the French Ministry of foreign affairs.
Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 86, No. 2, Summer 2021