The role of student researchers within the Marymount Organization for Social Change In Action (MOSCA)

will play the role of student researchers within the Marymount Organization for Social Change In Action (MOSCA). The mission of MOSCA is to offer sociological insight to community organizations, governments, and global institutions confronting the critical social issues of the twenty-first century.

The Scenario:
Health experts throughout the world have stated that the only way to rid the world of Coronavirus is through large-scale vaccination of people across the globe. But world authorities are having problems vaccinating enough people to stave off new variants that threaten to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we see significant differences in vaccination rates that are indicative of an inequitable pattern of distribution of vaccines across the countries of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set targets for every country of the world to fully vaccinate at least 40% of their population by the end of this year and at least 70% by mid-2022. Today, 55% of the world’s population is vaccinated, but the gap in vaccination rates between rich and poor countries is enormous. Driven by concerns that its targets will not be met, the WHO has called for vaccinating more adults around the world with their first doses before any countries move on to begin vaccinating children.
There are obviously many reasons for the inequitable pattern of vaccine coverage we see today. Some of the most important of these are identified in the resources contained in this resource packet.

Facing these realities, MOSCA has been pushed by our community leadership to identify the underlying causes of these inequitable patterns of vaccination and to propose actions that could undermine the social barriers to equitable distribution so that vaccines could rapidly start flowing to people in need throughout the world.
Your task:
As student researchers at MOSCA, you are tasked with providing an initial assessment of the situation, its main causes, and potential remedies.
For you essay, you will propose a plan to MOSCA leadership. Your essay (1-3 pages) should accomplish three things:

1. Provide up-to-date information about the global inequities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution;
2. Identify the main social barriers that impede national governments and international institutions from implementing the reasonable solutions already on the table (e.g., large-scale donations, patent waivers, or others that you discover);
3. Design creative public initiatives aimed at overcoming these social barriers (rapidly!). Here your goal should be to apply fundamental sociological ideas — anything from solidarity to socialization, from structural inequities to capitalism — to improve our understanding of the social barriers themselves; then you’ll identify what creative solutions you think could help the world overcome these barriers.