With the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic threatening human health and social security across the region, there is a need for ASEAN as a regional body to coordinate the responses of Member States to contain the spread of the virus and to scale-up collective action from all relevant stakeholders.

Dr Nguyen Thu Anh, the Country Director of Woolcock Institute of Medical Research was invited to be a speaker to address the issue on Building resilient ASEAN Vaccine Supply Chains. She emphasized that low and middle income countries having difficulty in access to vaccine, being left vulnerable to the new Covid-19 surge for several reasons:

• • While eight ASEAN countries benefit from COVAX facility, one is the donor and one is consider to be COVAX member, shipped vaccine doses by COVAX accounted for small proportion among secured amount, and slower than virus spreading speed globally by end of October 2021.
  • Additionally, contract negotiation with vaccine manufactures were at late stage, have not been secured and delivery of vaccine was delayed. Even if available, vaccine is not affordable for LMIC.
  • At the same time, capacity to develop/manufacture home grown vaccine is limited (mostly concentrated in India, Europe, North America, China). Technology transfer from Western vaccine companies to global south is not likely to happen soon, except AstraZeneca.
  • Restrictions on exports of both raw materials and finished vaccines from key vaccine-producing regions.
  • Distribution system, internationally and domestically, particularly to remote areas and for mRNA vaccines, has not met the need.
  • Planning for vaccination at large scale is challenge.