Put People Before Profits for Progress

By Jomo Kwame SundaramKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 18 2021 (IPS) Millions of people are expected to die due to delayed and unaffordable access to COVID-19 tests, treatment, personal protective equipment and vaccines. Urgent cooperation is desperately needed to save lives and livelihoods for all. Vaccine apartheid Thus far, rich countries have bought up most available vaccine supplies. By mid-April, rich countries had received more than 87 percent of the more than 700 million vaccine doses dispensed worldwide, while poor countries had received only 0.2 percent. Jomo Kwame SundaramA quarter of the former’s population had been vaccinated compared to one in 500 of the latter’s! By mid-May, less than a twelfth of the world’s population had been vaccinated, with ten rich countries getting four-fifths of all vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is mainly reaching the world’s rich. Despite CEO Alberto Bourla’s promise to ensure that poorer countries “have the same access as the rest of the world”, World Health Organization (WHO) data confirm that Pfizer has actually done little for the world’s poor. After promising earlier not to profit from the pandemic, Moderna – which has never made a profit after a decade and no other revenue – has decided to profit from its vaccine. Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have both vowed not to profit from vaccine sales during the pandemic. Pfizer profits According to a New York Times article, US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer chose e...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Economy & Trade Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news