Pandemic Vaccines: Can Local Production Improve Access?

How could local vaccine production improve pandemic preparedness?

Access to vaccines depends on whether manufacturers can produce enough doses and deliver them when needed. The World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement on 20 May 2025, following negotiations prompted by shortcomings in the COVID-19 response. Improving timely access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics is a central objective. [WHO adoption announcement](https://www.who.int/news/item/20-05-2025-world-health-assembly-adopts-historic-pandemic-agreement-to-make-the-world-more-equitable-and-safer-from-future-pandemics).

Article 10 addresses the practical manufacturing challenge. It calls for support for geographically distributed facilities, workforce skills, investment and purchasing arrangements that help manufacturers remain operational. The public-health rationale is that established regional capacity could respond when demand rises rapidly. That benefit remains conditional: additional factories need functioning supply chains and distribution systems before their output can reach patients. [WHO Pandemic Agreement, Article 10](https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA78/A78_R1-en.pdf).

What does vaccine technology transfer actually involve?

Manufacturing a vaccine requires detailed knowledge of how to run, monitor and reproduce its production process. WHO's April 2021 call to establish an mRNA vaccine technology-transfer hub described a comprehensive technology package, training, and standard procedures for manufacturing and quality control. It also addressed the licensing arrangements needed for participating manufacturers to use the technology. [WHO technology-transfer proposal](https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/establishment-of-a-covid-19-mrna-vaccine-technology-transfer-hub-to-scale-up-global-manufacturing).

For patients, the crucial implication is consistency: a facility must reliably manufacture a product that meets its specifications. Sharing equipment designs or scientific instructions is only part of that task; staff need practical expertise and established quality systems. WHO's approach therefore links access to technology with training and production controls. Technology transfer builds manufacturing capability, while each vaccine still requires the evidence and regulatory assessment appropriate to its intended use.

Why must vaccine factories remain viable between pandemics?

A WHO report published in 2026, documenting an investment meeting held on 17 April 2024, examines the challenge of sustaining mRNA manufacturing. Its analysis considers both construction and operating costs, alongside research into products that could support activity between pandemics. The distinction matters: paying to establish a facility does not automatically cover the continuing costs of keeping its capabilities available. [WHO investment meeting report](https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/mhp-hps/whohsdhpspam2026-1.pdf).

The report also discusses modeled production scenarios. These are conditional estimates rather than evidence that a particular volume of doses will be available during the next emergency. A practical implication is that preparedness should be assessed through demonstrated manufacturing capability, workforce readiness, quality oversight and reliable supply arrangements. For communities, the meaningful outcome is whether safe, effective vaccines become accessible when needed; announced capacity alone cannot establish that result.