CHR: Ethics underpin medicine distribution

Ethical considerations must be the principle that guides countries, global health authorities and pharmaceutical companies in the anticipated mass rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

"Now that there is a major development in addressing the pandemic with the expected availability of vaccines, it is primordial that ethical solutions mirror and reflect the principles of human rights, universality and equity which are core values of the World Health Organization and the United Nations," Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Commissioner Gwen Pimentel-Gana said in a statement.

The CHR official said equitable distribution and accessibility should be ensured to have a lasting effect on solving the pandemic.

Gana made the call amid the development of COVID-19 vaccines in western countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Release near

The vaccines, according to reports, are now awaiting final-stage trials and eventual emergency use approval by the drug administration in the United States.

At least three leading COVID- 19 vaccines with promising efficacy developed by pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are at the cusp of regulatory evaluations and approvals that will pave the massive roll out in billions of doses to be administered to the global population.