Tiered Pricing and Alternative Mechanisms for Equitative Access to Vaccines in Latin America: A Narrative Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objectives

To review and describe alternative strategies for the supply of vaccines in Latin America.

Methods

We conducted a narrative review to explore and describe alternatives for equitable vaccine access in Latin America. We searched and considered the main access strategies reported in the literature through PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Additionally, we reviewed the web sites of key stakeholders. The search was conducted using the following keywords: (“access” or “availability” or “acquisition” or “affordability” or “tiered pricing”) and (“vaccine”). Subsequently, documents that met the inclusion criteria were selected. Finally, findings were grouped by means of a thematic analysis and an interpretative synthesis.

Results

Twenty-four publications were included. We identified 5 main topics: current supply strategies, challenges for the acquisition of vaccines, vaccine prices equity, alternative supply strategies, and the advantages and impact of a tiered pricing strategy.

Conclusions

Our review suggests that tiered pricing can be an tool for accelerating the process of introducing vaccines in low-income countries at affordable prices and for countries that do not adhere to the current procurement mechanisms or are not eligible for Vaccine Alliance because giving countries prices for vaccines that reflect their ability to pay can result in better programmatic and financial planning for the purchase of these vaccines, and in return, vaccine manufacturers can gain access to wider markets However, this model has not been z improve access to vaccines that are aimed only at developing countries, mainly because the market in these countries is not profitable for producers.