No trade? No vaccine

New OECD analysis of vaccine trade data underscores the unprecedented speed with which new COVID-19 vaccines were able to be developed, manufactured and distributed following the pandemic outbreak at the beginning of 2020 (see Global Supply Chains at Work).

The value of global trade in vaccines in the first six months of 2021 surged to USD 41bn – a jump of 164% over the same period in 2020 (USD 15.5bn), and 26% more than for the full year 2020 (USD 32.6bn). Belgium, Germany, the US, China and Spain accounted for about 73% of total exports in the first half of 2021.

Trade data for the products needed to manufacture and distribute COVID-19 vaccines highlights the role that global supply chains played in ensuring steady access to a wide range of materials and ingredients.

Global supply chains have proven critical to the success of the global vaccine roll-out – and will be again in the future.

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