Serious unfair distribution of vaccination management chaos
How to break the global vaccine dilemma? (Hot conversation)
Currently, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still spreading globally. Viruses know no borders. In the face of the epidemic, no country can survive alone. Only by ensuring that all people in danger are protected, can mankind completely defeat the new crown virus and achieve true overall security. Today, mass vaccination of vaccines has become the key to global economic development and social life back on track. At present, what problems have appeared in the process of vaccination and distribution of the global new crown pneumonia vaccine? What role does China play in this? How to achieve a fair distribution of vaccines? Regarding these issues of widespread concern, this newspaper has an in-depth dialogue with three experts to interpret them for you.
What’s wrong with global vaccination distribution?
Bloomberg pointed out that the most interesting fact on the global map of immunization is that most of the southern hemisphere is left blank due to lack of relevant data or too low vaccination rates. According to the “Financial Times” report, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the world is on the verge of “catastrophic moral failure” because poor countries cannot obtain vaccines as quickly as rich countries to protect their people from COVID-19.
Huang Jiayan: Unfair distribution between high-income countries and low-income countries. According to the opening speech of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the 148th session of the Executive Committee, “the equitable distribution of vaccines is at serious risk”, as of January 18, 2021, at least 49 high-income countries have vaccinated more than 39 million people COVID-19 vaccine, but in a country with the lowest income, only 25 doses were injected.
Vaccination management is chaotic. Some vaccine manufacturers bypass the New Coronary Pneumonia Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX) and prioritize bilateral transactions with high-income countries in order to increase vaccine prices and obtain more profits. Most vaccine manufacturers give priority to the approval of the regulatory authorities of wealthy countries rather than submitting all materials to the WHO. This may lead to delays in COVAX delivery, vaccine stockpiles, market chaos, uncoordinated responses, and ongoing socio-economic chaos. This me-first approach not only puts the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people at risk, it will ultimately only extend the duration of the global pandemic.
The safety of vaccination still exists. The current vaccines are all urgently developed under special circumstances and do not fully follow strict procedures, so safety is still worrying.
Wang Yiwei: There are many problems in the global distribution of vaccines. First, as Tedros said, almost all vaccinations so far have been carried out in high-income countries. The result is that developed countries are becoming more and more secure, and developing countries are becoming more and more insecure, causing more serious unfairness. Second, there are also unfairness among different groups of people and races in certain countries. For example, in the United States, some Wall Street elites will cut in line to get vaccinated, while low-income groups and other disadvantaged groups cannot afford it at all. The vaccine may even bring new racial discrimination. Third, in the United States and the West, private companies monopolize the production of vaccines, and profit is the main purpose, and there is no willingness to make vaccines as a global public product. In addition, it must be noted that some countries are too trusting in technology, relying on vaccines, and not paying attention to epidemic prevention and blocking transmission. Behind this may be the social Darwinism of the United States and the West. It is believed that the epidemic can eliminate the low-end population and reduce the burden of social welfare. This is completely the logic of the weak and the survival of the fittest.
Chen Xulong: In terms of vaccine distribution, the north-south gap is prominent. At present, the amount of vaccines obtained by rich developed countries and developing countries is seriously uneven. The former may even be hoarding more vaccines than they actually need, while poor developing countries cannot obtain vaccines at all. There are also problems within developed countries. In some countries, the problem of inequality between the rich and the poor is prominent, and it is easier for the rich to obtain vaccines. In addition, some people hold an unscientific attitude and resist vaccines; in some countries, the organization process of vaccination is inefficient, exposing shortcomings in national governance.
How does China contribute to vaccine development and distribution?
In May 2020, at the opening ceremony of the Seventy-third World Health Assembly video conference, China announced that the new crown pneumonia vaccine developed in China will be a world public product. In October 2020, China officially joined COVAX. As of January 19, 2021, Indonesian President Joko, Turkish President Erdogan, Seychelles President Ram Karawang, Jordanian Prime Minister Beshir Al-Khasuna and other foreign dignitaries have been vaccinated against China. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Serbian President Vucic and many other leaders said that they will be vaccinated against China. According to incomplete statistics, more than 40 countries have so far put forward the need to import Chinese vaccines.
Wang Yiwei: China was the first to be severely impacted by the epidemic, to control the epidemic, to resume work and production, and to declare vaccines as a global public product; China provided vaccines to developing countries when it was also needed at home, and even purchased vaccines. To other countries; China is also actively cooperating with the United States to control the epidemic. China is a socialist country and a developing country. It has repeatedly emphasized the supremacy of life and the people, and has always regarded the lives and health of its people as its greatest concern. However, the United States and the West have slandered us for engaging in so-called “mask diplomacy” and “vaccine diplomacy”, which is entirely to treat the gentleman’s belly like a villain. China’s provision of vaccines to other countries emphasizes public welfare. Vaccines are not a tool to make money, nor are they a means of forcing other countries to submit or stand in line. These are logics unique to Western capital, which we despise.
More importantly, China’s vaccines have better accessibility and affordability, and they are public products that people in developing countries and poor people in developed countries can afford. Only when everyone is healthy can the world be healthy. China’s vaccine solves the shortcoming problem.
Chen Xulong: Neither China’s anti-epidemic nor vaccine development has been treated fairly by the United States and the West. While fighting the new crown virus, China must also fight the political virus. On the issue of vaccines, the United States and the West stand on the high ground of the right to speak, cover up their own problems and infinitely magnify China’s problems. This is by no means a scientific attitude. In fact, in the process of vaccine development and vaccination, China has been scientifically and steadily advancing, step by step. China’s vaccines are popular internationally. The best example of this is the personal vaccination by leaders of many countries. More importantly, China’s vaccines are crucial to solving the problem of vaccine accessibility, and developing countries will benefit. The United States and the West cannot do this and are unwilling to do so. Their response is to discredit the Chinese vaccine. This is obviously a bad motivation.
Huang Jiayan: On October 8, 2020, China participated in COVAX, which was jointly established by WHO, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and the Alliance for Epidemic Prevention Innovation. It aims to achieve a fair distribution of global vaccines and ensure equitable vaccines in developing countries Reachable. According to the official website data of the World Health Organization and the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), as of January 19, 2021, a total of 4 vaccines developed in China have been approved for early or restricted use.
How should the world try to distribute vaccines fairly and reasonably?
The World Health Organization and related agencies have put forward the “Global Cooperation to Accelerate the Development, Production, and Fair Access to New Tools for the Prevention and Control of New Coronary Pneumonia” initiative, and in 2020, together with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and the Alliance for Epidemic Prevention Innovation, they established COVAX to ensure vaccines Fair distribution on a global scale. According to CNBC reports, WHO announced on the 18th that it has signed agreements or declarations of intent with multiple vaccine research and development or production institutions on vaccine procurement matters, guaranteeing that WHO-led COVAX will receive nearly 2 billion doses of new coronary pneumonia vaccines. These vaccines It will be provided to participating economies from the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest. However, due to doubts about COVAX’s ability to achieve its goal of distributing 2 billion doses of vaccines, governments in Africa and parts of Latin America and South Asia are stepping up to finalize their own deals.
Chen Xulong: International organizations such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and relevant countries are working hard to build a multilateral framework to promote vaccine accessibility and universal benefit. This is indispensable for developing countries. There are more vaccines in the world in the development process. As time goes by, the production of vaccines increases, and the availability of vaccines will become higher and higher. Moreover, developed countries will gradually have more vaccines available to the international community after meeting “national priority”. Coupled with the active promotion and demonstration role of China and other countries, the vaccine situation will get better and better.
Huang Jiayan: According to GAVI’s official website data, as of December 18, 2020, a total of US$2.4 billion has been donated to GAVI to support COVAX. All countries must take unified actions to fight the epidemic, otherwise the insecurity of any country will cause global insecurity. The current global health governance system does not have a rigid supervision and resolution mechanism. It can only advocate and encourage the international community to carry out bilateral or multilateral cooperation as much as possible, and try to ensure that underdeveloped regions such as Africa and small countries without capacity receive necessary international assistance. In particular, it should be emphasized that developed countries should not over-customize and stock up, which will cause uneven and insufficient vaccine distribution worldwide.
Vaccine manufacturers should also give priority to providing products to COVAX instead of signing separate bilateral transaction contracts with individual countries. If necessary, a national compulsory license can be considered to allow the production of vaccines in the country. This can reduce costs and increase supply significantly.
Wang Yiwei: Viruses are the common enemy of all mankind. People of all countries in the world must fight together to win the victory against the epidemic. The fair and reasonable distribution of vaccines at the global level cannot be achieved by a single country alone. It requires the joint initiative of the international community to build a true human health community, share resources, and provide vaccines to those with the most urgent needs first. It is hoped that the United Nations and the World Health Organization can coordinate the convening of a global public health summit, and relevant international organizations and major countries will discuss the rational allocation of vaccines.
So far, China has provided a large amount of public health assistance to more than 150 countries and more than 40 international organizations. China joined COVAX in October last year and is already providing vaccines to other countries. All this reflects China’s scientific research strength and responsibility as a major country, and it is also a practical measure that China advocates building a community with a shared future for mankind. However, China alone will not work. Some big countries have not joined COVAX. How to establish the authority of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, realize the fairness and efficiency of vaccine distribution, and turn ideals into reality is the most realistic and most urgent challenge in the world.
Recently, politicians from Algeria, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, and the Philippines have taken the lead in vaccinating. Orders are flooding in. More and more countries have cast a vote of confidence in safe, effective, accessible and affordable Chinese vaccines.
“I came here to pick up the plane not only because of the good quality of China’s vaccines, but also to express the true friendship between China and Serbia. Thank you for China’s long-term support to Serbia.”
—— Serbian President Vucic
“I wanted to be the first to receive the Kerlaford Covid-19 vaccine to convince everyone that this vaccine is safe.”
-Indonesian President Joko
“Today is a day full of hope. 100 million doses of vaccine will save the lives of countless Brazilians.”
-Joao Doria, Governor of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil
“The experts believe that the Chinese vaccine is the best. It has passed clinical trials in many countries, and after being put into use in Turkey, the effect is also very good.”
——Azerbaijan’s Minister of Health Oktai Hilaryev
“Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and other countries that use Chinese vaccines have not reported deaths of vaccinators.”
“The Chinese are smart. They will not risk producing vaccines if it is not safe, reliable, and foolproof.”
——President Duterte of the Philippines
“Yes, I am willing to vaccinate China when necessary. I have no problems.”
“China’s vaccines are developed using traditional technology, and their safety is very positive.”
-Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti
“China’s vaccines do not require ultra-low temperature storage, which brings hope to people living in remote areas.”
——Mexico President Lopez
Zhang Hong
Zhang Hong
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