Parray, Ateeb AdmadYadav, Uday NarayanDas, AnupomAli, ARM MehrabMollick, ShemanaSaha, SenjutiMistry, Sabuj Kanti2024-04-021744-1692http://hdl.handle.net/1885/316437Lockdowns and other COVID-19 containment measures enforced to kerb the pandemic have had a massive impact on the overall growth of the world. Income-generating activities have been reduced, but the impact is more consequential among the low- and middle-income countries. The disproportionate access to vaccines between wealthy and poor countries has resulted in ‘vaccine apartheid.’ An ‘every-country-for-itself’ approach or ‘vaccine nationalism’ coupled with ‘vaccine hesitancy’ has contributed to disproportionate access to and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines. This paper argues that it is time for the decision-makers to adopt a Universal Vaccine Access Strategy (UVAS). The authors argue that sharing resources by establishing local production of vaccines wherever possible, timely donation of unused COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries and addressing vaccine hesitancy have become imperative to interrupt the emergence of new variants.application/pdfen-AU© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupCOVID-19COVID-19 vaccinevaccine equityuniversal vaccine access strategylow and-middle-income countries202210.1080/17441692.2022.20299282022-11-13