The imbalance in the distribution of vaccines in the world is not only deeply unfair. It is also unwise. The spread of new mutants is a reminder of how dynamic and dangerous the corona virus is.
CORONAVAKSINER: According to the WHO, 1.5 billion vaccine doses have now been administered worldwide. 75 percent of these are set in only ten countries. ILLUSTRATION PHOTO: AFP / NTB view more
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Manager: This is an editorial from Dagbladet, and expresses the newspaper’s views. Dagbladet’s political editor is responsible for the editorial.
Published
Sunday, 30 May 2021 – 20:38
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The reopening is in progress and in many places in the country it coincides with good weather. Nightlife is flourishing, beer taps are buzzing, and parks and hiking terrain are filled with happy people. Many fear that all this mobility will result in new jumps in infection rates, but the health authorities are reassuring. Norway can tolerate somewhat more infection if the pace of vaccination is maintained and no more dangerous, mutated viruses appear.
EMA: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has decided that Pfizer / Biontech’s corona vaccine can be used on children as young as twelve years old. They announced this at a press conference on Friday. Video: AP / NTB view more
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A new virus is already establishing itself in Norway. The Indian virus variant has been found in several places in the country. The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) estimates that the actual number of cases of infection is probably over fifty. The variant, which was first detected in India in December, is now becoming the dominant variant in the United Kingdom. It can also happen here.
Department Director Line Vold says FHI considers the risk that this variant will continue to spread into Norway to be medium-high. This may be the variant we will see most of in Norway in the future, says Vold. She reckons that the epidemic can still be kept under control with the implementation of current measures and continued rapid vaccination.
The Indian variant is more contagious than the British that now dominate in Norway. It may seem that the vaccines protect somewhat less against the Indian virus in the case of common disease, but hardly less against serious disease.
It is not yet reason to let the alarm go off. But the India virus is a reminder of how dynamic and dangerous the corona virus is. The WorldHealth Organization (WHO) has a list of several virus variants that are closely monitored and researched. The latest news is that Vietnam now has a strong spread of covid-19 due to a cross between the Indian and British variants. According to the Vietnamese Minister of Health, this variant is highly contagious.
All this is one warning about the global nature of the infection and the disease. It affects everything and can only be fought with effective vaccines. WHO’s Europe chief Hans Kluge says the pandemic is not over until 70 percent have been vaccinated. Worldwide.
According to the WHO, it is now administered 1.5 billion vaccine doses worldwide. 75 percent of these are set in only ten countries. The poorest countries have received less than half a percent of these vaccines. This bias is not only deeply unfair, but also unwise. We may be able to close our eyes to poverty in the third world. This is not the case with the pandemic. It requires action and solidarity that is also rational self-interest.
