The coronavirus vaccine war is at its height, with states investing heavily in research and will be given priority to receive the doses. The United States, in particular, is spending billions. A question of leadership, but also of long-term savings.

The coronavirus vaccine war rages on. While various laboratories are still in the testing phases, fierce competition between states has started to try to ensure access to doses. The European Union announced on Friday that it had reserved 300 million of them with Sanofi and continued "intensive discussions" with other manufacturers. On the side of the United States, it is an agreement of more than 2 billion dollars which was signed with the French, but also the British JSK, to finance their research. Because this is Donald Trump's strategy: to multiply orders in several laboratories to maximize the chances of getting a vaccine that works. 

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But then why pursue this (expensive) course of action? First for economic reasons: it is certainly expensive, but we see the dramatic impact of the pandemic every day on countries' GDP and global growth. France recorded a historic plunge of 13.8% of its gross domestic product in the second quarter due to the coronavirus. Germany, the economic engine of Europe, also announced Thursday a drop of 10.1% of its GDP over the same period.

The United States in search of global leadership

The second reason is geopolitical. “It's a race against time to ensure global leadership for the United States,” explains Frédéric Bizard, health economist. "It is less the case for the other powers which try to have a collaborative approach. This is not the case for the United States because it is the first world power and they must be the first served." Europe can not therefore be inactive vis-à-vis its citizens, according to the expert. We have to be involved, he says, even if the European Union has fallen behind in this crazy race led by the United States. 

But do these past agreements guarantee exclusivity to States? This obviously depends on the nature of the agreements, but also on the final price of this or these vaccines. What is certain is that there will be priority countries. If we take the example of a 20 dollar vaccine, developing countries will not be able to buy massive doses. According to specialists, therefore, the support of international aid will absolutely be necessary.