About This Project

1 in 4 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine in high-income countries, but only 1 in 500 have in low-income countries (April 2021). A global strategy is needed to save lives, prevent mutations, and kickstart economic recovery.

But how willing are people in resource-rich countries to share? What makes them donate towards vaccines in times of adversity?

We study human behaviour at the confluence of altruism and self-interest to develop guidance for the design of a global vaccine strategy.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Many countries cannot afford or access vaccines and rely on donations or surpluses from richer countries. Vaccine inequity may endanger the health and livelihood of communities around the globe as 80% of the population in resource-poor countries may not receive a vaccine in 2021.

Although the issue has been debated for nearly a year, only few countries, like Norway, committed to sharing vaccines early. Equitable global vaccine distribution is feasible and it reduces not only the number of deaths and economic hardship but also the occurrence of viral mutations with potentially devastating effects.

Hence, vaccine redistribution to resource-poor countries can be justified through altruism and/or self-interest. Our study aims to measure how these motives impact the willingness to donate.

What is the significance of this project?

Understanding the inclination of resource-rich countries to share is essential for ensuring that vaccine redistribution policies are accepted among the general public. On a population level, we know that people give more in times of economic prosperity, and are equally willing to give to their community and outside of it.

The current situation, however, is unprecedented. We will collect data to understand individuals’ willingness to share after a year of physical, financial and emotional hardship. This is particularly pertinent as vast amounts of private and public money are spent on global vaccine distribution initiatives. Accurate data on individuals’ attitudes towards vaccine sharing is crucial to guide public policy and vaccine investments abroad.

What are the goals of the project?

We conduct an online experiment to determine influencing factors on vaccine sharing behaviour of individuals in resource-rich countries. We investigate how providing information on the current global health situation may affect sharing behaviour.

In different treatments (including a control group), we present our subjects with facts appealing to altruism or self-interest as a narrative for sharing vaccines. We also collect data on vaccine history and exposure to hardship during the pandemic. Finally, subjects are presented with the choice of donating a portion of their participation rewards to a vaccine access initiative such as COVAX. Our goal is to support the design of a global vaccination strategy with data on individual sharing behaviour, laying a foundation for policy and outreach.