In a fast-paced world where trends change every day and news loses its grip on audiences within mere minutes, it’s no surprise that the world has grown tired of the pandemic. This phenomenon has been dubbed ‘pandemic fatigue’.

It’s almost as if the COVID-19 pandemic experience is a TV show that has gone on for one season too long: on the one hand people are losing interest in it, on the other, they’re eager to see how it ends.

Sadly, this fatigue can only prolong the very pandemic that we want to see the end of. If COVID-19 falls out of headlines and conversations, those who are being devastatingly affected by it — and without the resources to protect themselves from it — will be left behind, as wealthier nations will freely move on to business as usual pre-pandemic.

Rich countries rushing to hoard vaccine doses has been one of the causes of vaccine droughts in poorer nations this year, and if we let pandemic fatigue get the better of us and we do not hold those guilty of vaccine nationalism accountable, those who need vaccines will not get them.

To make sure that we don’t lose sight of the mission to end the pandemic for everyone, everywhere, we’ve decided to provide motivation to continue the call for vaccine equity by compiling a list of reasons from activists and experts, on why it’s important to continue to fight for vaccine equity, even if we’re tired of hearing about the pandemic.

  1. Vaccine nationalism increases the risk of new variants.
  2. The pandemic is not just a health issue, it impacts almost everything.
  3. Everyone, everywhere benefits from vaccine sharing, not just those in poorer countries.
  4. Access to vaccines should not come with a cost.
  5. Vaccine inequity could cost lives.

Read the full article about global vaccine equity by Khanyi Mlaba at Global Citizen.