The issue of vaccine production has become a topic of hot debate following the approval of treatments for COVID-19. In South Africa angry exchanges have been spurred by the country's lagging access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Generally, vaccines are produced by private companies who sell the vaccine under contracts. In some cases, producers will make provisions for access in particular markets. This is sometimes as a condition for receiving early development funding or for allowing parts of production to occur in a particular country. Some middle-income countries, particularly India, Argentina and Mexico, have sufficient production capacity to be partly indispensable. These countries have strategic leverage to get vaccines because of their own vaccine manufacturing capacity.
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