“The number of coronavirus vaccines hoarded by developed countries is 1 billion more doses than they actually need!”
At a time when the international community is actively seeking vaccine cooperation to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, a recent investigation report released by the international non-profit anti-poverty organization “ONE Campaign” has exposed such strong news.
According to reports, “ONE Campaign” found that the number of coronavirus vaccines hoarded by a few developed countries, such as the United States, has exceeded 3 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines so far, even under the premise of two doses universal vaccination, which need The total number of vaccines is only 2.06 billion doses.
And the surplus vaccine is enough for the adult population across the continent.
Western countries “grab” global vaccines
In contrast to the overstocking of vaccines in a few developed countries, such as the United States, most countries in the world, especially small and medium-sized developing countries, may not have access to vaccines for months or more.
This also confirms the warning just made by United Nations Secretary-General Guterres. Guterres pointed out at a Security Council videoconference on the 17th that the control of most of the world’s vaccines is “extremely unfair” in a few countries, and the data shows that more than 130 countries have never received a dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
He stressed that achieving “immunequality” is the “greatest moral test” facing the international community at present.
Guterres also mentioned in particular that only 10 countries have collected three-quarters of the world’s vaccine products. CNN reported that although Guterres did not specify the names of these 10 countries, “the United States must be one of them”.
The practice of “vaccine nationalism” in a few countries has aroused the dissatisfaction of many developing countries. During the Security Council video conference, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Eblad publicly called on rich countries to stop hoarding vaccines and give the poor some vaccination opportunities.
He said that Mexico and Latin America as a whole are concerned about vaccine inequality.” Vaccine-producing countries have very high vaccination rates, while Latin America and the Caribbean have much lower vaccination rates.”
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Raleigh also expressed deep concern about the hoarding of vaccines in developed countries, and worried that this move would raise the price of vaccines and make it more difficult for poor countries to obtain them. He called for a global vaccine distribution based on the “sharing and care” model, providing fair opportunities for small countries like Tedo, “for the benefit of all mankind, not just the few people with privileges and wealth”.
Behind the commitment of the United States to donate…
In the past two days, it has also attracted media attention, as was President Biden’s statement on vaccines at the Group of Seven (G7) summit on the 19th.
Biden announced during the video conference that the United States will donate $4 billion to the WHO to buy a coronavirus vaccine for poor countries.
In response to this “commitment” to the United States, WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros stressed that rich countries “need to do more work and faster” because “the longer it takes to suppress the virus, the more likely it is to make the vaccine less effective and the more likely it is to make the virus mutated, so that Let’s go back to the starting point.
According to the Associated Press, development and aid organizations welcome the commitment of G7 countries such as the United States, but emphasize that these rich countries need to do more as soon as possible.
The report specifically noted that because these economic powers face vaccination pressures in their respective countries, the leaders are “unwilling to disclose how many vaccines they are willing to share with developing countries and when to share them”.
In addition, it is reported that French President Macron recently proposed that Europe and the United States urgently provide 3% to 5% of their stockpiles of vaccines to support Africa, but the United States explicitly rejected this proposal, saying that it would not donate any vaccines to developing countries until there is sufficient vaccine supplies in the United States.
And experts have long warned that with the emergence of more mutant strains, the delay of vaccination in poorer countries may lead to a longer pandemic, causing more serious human and economic losses.
Therefore, vaccination priorities should be measured globally rather than by country-specific standards.
In the words of Sema Sgel, assistant professor at Harvard University, “the primary focus should not be to vaccinate the whole population of a country, but to try to vaccinate the most at-risk people in the world first.”
Zhang Tengjun, an assistant researcher at the United States Institute of the Chinese Academy of International Studies, analyzed that the seemingly positive posture of the United States at this time is first of all the result of long-term international criticism and pressure.
This donation “pledge” sounds generous, but it remains to be seen whether it can be implemented. In fact, the idea of “America First” is still continuing.
Zhang Tengjun: “On the issue of vaccines, he is still following the concept of American priority, and still insists on the absolute American first.
On the one hand, he considers domestic problems; on the other hand, he fears that if he goes to assist other countries, it will trigger a domestic rebound, which is not conducive to the stability of his early administration.
So at the root, he still has to serve his political needs.
