In this webinar, Dr Tham Siew Yean and Sara Abdullah explored responses in the region to the vaccination and reopening challenge, investigating country-level approaches and ASEAN’s initiatives.
Regional Economic Studies Programme Webinar
Wednesday, 23 February 2022 – ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute hosted a webinar on “COVID-19, Vaccination and Reopening in Southeast Asia: Country-level and ASEAN responses” delivered by Dr Tham Siew Yean, Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Professor Emeritus, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Miss Sara Abdullah, Assistant Director and Head of Political Cooperation Division 1 at the ASEAN Secretariat.
The webinar commenced with Dr Tham, who provided an overview of the multiple channels of vaccine procurement in Southeast Asia. In particular, she discussed participation of ASEAN countries in the multilateral channel, COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access) and the COVID-19 vaccines approved for use. However, she highlighted the challenges that countries faced in the roll-out which included vaccine inequality, vaccine hesitancy and logistics challenges. A comparison of the progress of COVAX vaccine roll-out was also made between self-paying countries and those in the COVAX AMC (COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment).
Dr Tham continued to discuss vaccine diplomacy in the context of China, where steps to strengthen bilateral ties in Southeast Asia were made through vaccine diplomacy and the donation of masks and test kits in late 2019. There was varied receptivity towards China-made vaccines largely due to its quality and country-specific issues. Dr Tham then went on to discuss the United States’ (US) efforts at vaccine diplomacy, where vaccines were either delivered directly or through COVAX. While the US donated a larger amount, delivery was rather slow, with the vaccines arriving in late 2021. Moreover, the European Union (EU) became the second largest donor of vaccines after the US through multilateral vaccine diplomacy. In March 2021, the Quad leaders launched the Quad Vaccine partnership to enhance equitable access to vaccines. Additionally, many countries have reportedly participated in deals for the sale and production of the Russian-produced vaccine Sputnik V. In addition, many countries have made private purchases of COVID-19 vaccines and made effort to contribute back to COVAX. Dr Tham also touched on the topics of vaccine utilisation across the Southeast Asian countries, the number of local vaccine manufacturers in each country and the manufacturing production process of COVID-19 vaccines. The presentation concluded with a final brief overview of vaccine production with key producers in Southeast Asia and the development of home-made vaccines.
The webinar was then passed onto Miss Abdullah, who outlined ASEAN’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its efforts at re-opening. The regional landscape during the crisis witnessed the implementation of many border closures. Since then, several regional initiatives in response to the crisis, such as the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund and the ATCAF (ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework), have been introduced. The former was launched in November 2020 and included contributions by dialogue and external partners who procured vaccines through UNICEF in 2021. However, the collaboration faced obstacles in the form of vaccine diplomacy and discrimination, as well as distribution woes. The ATCAF was launched in October 2021, but questions of the framework and its relevance linger on.
The webinar concluded with the speakers answering questions posed by the audience, such as the impact of the absence of Southeast Asia-based vaccine producers on the vaccination rollouts, the issue of intellectual property and patent wavers, as well as ASEAN’s preparedness for the next crisis.
