Centralized vaccine procurement in the post-COVID-19 European Union

Abstract

Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted healthcare systems worldwide with societal, psychological, and economic burdens. The widespread use of the developed COVID-19 vaccines has been generally pursued to stop the spread, decrease mortality rates, and lift the economic burden of healthcare systems. However, it became apparent that the demand for vaccines outnumbers the supply provided by pharmaceutical manufacturers. This policy brief explores the use of centralized procurement globally to formulate recommendations on how the European Union (EU) and its member states can benefit from such an approach.

Policy Options:

Globally, different models with varying levels of collaboration on procurement are implemented. The collaboration can be limited to information sharing or extend towards centralized procurement of medical goods. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, countries collaborated at an unprecedented scale, pooling together resources and expertise to ensure access to scarce vaccine supplies. The resulting centralized approach witnessed in the United States (US), EU, African Union (AU), or through COVAX highlighted the benefits of centralized procurement in the state of crisis.

Recommendations:

• An independent institution for pandemic preparedness and response:
  • focuses on transparent and timely access to vaccines 
  • supports strengthening of national capacities and healthcare systems through periodic monitoring and evaluation.
• A centralized procurement system for all EU member states under the independent institution.
• The development of comprehensive and efficient emergency preparedness plans.

Acknowledgments: We thank Ines Siepmann, our senior advisor, and Kasia Czabanowska for the opportunity to explore this topic as part of the Leadership track in the Master Governance and Leadership in European Public Health.

Authors’ contributions: All authors contributed equally to this work.

Conflict of interest: None declared

Source of funding: None declared