"The United States and other rich countries have only themselves to blame" for the prolonged process of ending the COVID-19 pandemic, said Daron Acemoglu, professor of economics at MIT, in a submission published by Project Syndicate, a Prague-based nonprofit that publishes commentaries for a global audience.

Taking Britain as an example, Acemoglu said even if it reaches herd immunity – when the share of people still susceptible to infection is so small that the disease can no longer spread, Britons will still not out of the woods. 

He said if Britain does not seal itself off from the rest of the world, those who travel outside the country will bring back new variants, which could potentially bypass the protections afforded by the current vaccines.

In his opinion, the only way to end this "whack-a-mole scenario" is to ensure that the entire world gets vaccinated at the same pace and as quickly as possible to avoid the emergence of new variants.

But worldwide vaccination seems impossible at the moment because not enough doses are being made available to the developing world. 

With Johnson & Johnson's new one-shot vaccine, which doesn't need the cold-supply-chain logistics required by the mRNA vaccines, there should be a fighting chance. 

"Tragically, though, vaccine nationalism is still standing in the way," Acemoglu said.

Politico reported last month that the Biden administration won't donate any coronavirus vaccines to poor countries until after most Americans are vaccinated, citing a senior administration official.

"If Western countries continue to focus solely on vaccinating their own populations while ignoring the need for global coordination, they should prepare for a future without unencumbered international travel," Acemoglu said.