Abstract
Hard to believe but in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 outbreak, the global GDP reached a staggering $87 trillion. A legitimate question for us compared to previous generations in the post-WWII period is: why do we have to compete for vaccines to save lives, particularly in a biotechnological age of rapid advances in therapies after the mapping of the human genome? Unfortunately or fortunately, some could argue the nation-state — based on geographically-bounded protections of sovereignty, security and health of national populations — has been the only model of social and political organization to persist. Classical empires have died and world wars preempted. Some see that as part of the great narrative of human progress. However, in terms of global ethics, one can say nation-states will always prioritize their own citizens over others, though not to say anything about the plight of undocumented people and refugees within a nation who are often bypassed.