Princess Mabel van Oranje took to Twitter to express her gratitude for being able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine: “Grateful to have received a free #COVID19 vaccine today (UK resident, age 50+).” She then turned that gratitude into action stating that she was going to donate to Vaccine Forward, a Swedish initiative aimed at buying and distributing coronavirus vaccines to the world’s 92 poorest economies.
Married into the Dutch royal family, her husband, Prince Friso, died in 2013. She and her family have lived in London since 2004. Princess Mabel is no stranger to human rights causes. A self-described human rights and equality activist, Mabel is Chair of Girls Not Brides and a board member of Vow to End Child Marriage.
Working with Vaccine Forward is a natural move for Mabel. Her tweet declared “no one is safe until everyone is safe” and included a message that read: “when you get your COVID-19 vaccination, donate a jab to the billions of people who still need one.”
Vaccine Forward works with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization to get coronavirus vaccines to more that two billion people living in countries that cannot afford the vaccines. In these poorer countries, even healthcare workers are not able to get the jab. One COVID vaccine costs an average of 10(USD). On that basis, Vaccine Forward states it will take a minimum of two billion dollars to establish the infrastructure to enable equal access to the vaccine, regardless of income level.
