18.04.2023; Vortragsreihe
Colloquium: Markus Scholz "Public Health and Political Corporate Social Responsibility: Pharmaceutical Company Engagement in COVAX"
Markus Scholz (IHI)
Public Health and Political Corporate Social Responsibility: Pharmaceutical Company Engagement in COVAX
Pharmaceutical companies developed COVID-19 vaccines in record time. However, it soon became apparent that global access to the vaccines was inequitable. Through a media analysis and interviews as the pandemic unfolded (up to mid-2021), we provide an in-depth analysis of why companies engaged with the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX). We discuss our empirical findings relative to the literature on Political Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR). We provide an answer to the question of whether pharmaceutical companies have lived up to their responsibilities as corporate citizens and political actors and fulfilled the implied responsibility of fighting inequitable vaccine distribution. While all producers of WHO-approved vaccines engaged with COVAX, our analysis highlights the differential levels of COVAX engagement and identifies explanatory factors. We also explore the implications of our research for practice, in relation to the challenges of global access to COVID-19 vaccines and for access to medicines more generally.