In Peripheral Sickness and in Core-like Health: An explorative case study analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic using World-Systems Theory

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the deadliest in modern history. Vaccines are currently the primary resource used for stopping the pandemic and minimizing harm. Yet despite scientific literature demonstrating the inefficiency of inequitable vaccine distribution, richer countries have historically and are currently procuring disproportionate amounts of vaccines; causing higher mortality rates, decreased global economic activity and increased risk of viral mutations. This exploratory and qualitative case study aims to understand the unequal distribution of vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic from a World-Systems Theory approach. This is done through the process of applying World-Systems Theory on the geography of vaccine production and acquisition, vaccine nationalism, intellectual property, and global health governance. The findings of this paper demonstrates that the world-system’s pursuit of endless capital accumulation causes inequitable distributions of production processes that both maintain unequal flows of surplus value but also concentrate leading industries in the core while depriving the periphery of the ability to establish them. Vaccine development, production and procurement is demonstrated to occur mainly in the core, an outcome detrimental to all.