Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare the following. FH and GY are signatories to the People’s Vaccine Campaign. FH is founder of the Health Justice Initiative, which is a member of the People’s Vaccine Campaign. She serves on the board of Global Witness and on the strategic advisory board of Resolve to Save Lives and hosts two podcasts, Access and the Witness. She received the first dose of Pfizer vaccine through the South African government in July 2021. GY is a funding member of Amnesty International, which is one of the members of the People’s Vaccine Alliance. He was a member of the covid-19 vaccine development taskforce hosted by the World Bank, and participated as an unpaid academic adviser in the consultation process that led to the launch of Covax. He has received grant funding from WHO; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He received the Pfizer vaccine through his employer (Duke University).