The Politics of Vaccines—How to Determine a Fair Vaccine Allocation: Hierarchy, Negotiations, or Culture?

Abstract

This study examines vaccine allocation policy during the COVID-19 pandemic by applying a hierarchical, a negotiation, and a cultural perspective. It addresses how vaccine allocation principles under conditions of scarcity are translated into practice in the case of Norway. A main finding is that the policy was informed by instrumentalism as well as by path dependencies, but over time the issue became more salient by activating stakeholder interests, which resulted in an adaptation of established norms. The three perspectives reveal how different approaches to a “fair vaccine allocation” policy can lead to different explanations of the same phenomenon.