Vaccine nationalism puts world on brink of 'catastrophic moral failure': WHO chief

By Emma Farge

 

FILE PHOTO: World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva Switzerland July 3, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS

 

GENEVA (Reuters) - The world is on the brink of "catastrophic moral failure" in sharing COVID-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world.

 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the prospects for equitable distribution were at "serious risk" just as its COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme aimed to start distributing inoculations next month.

 

He noted 44 bilateral deals were signed last year and at least 12 have already been signed this year.

 

"This could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid, with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption," he said.

 

Such a "me-first approach" left the world's poorest and most vulnerable at risk, he said at the opening of the body's annual Executive Board meeting in virtual format.

 

The world is on the brink of "catastrophic moral failure" in sharing COVID-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world. Emily Wither reports.

 

"Ultimately these actions will only prolong the pandemic," he added, urging countries to avoid making the same mistakes made during the H1N1 and HIV pandemics.

 

The global scramble for shots has intensified as more infectious virus variants circulate.

 

Tedros said more than 39 million vaccine doses had been administered in 49 higher-income countries whereas just 25 doses had been given in one poor country.

 

A delegate from Burkina Faso, on behalf of the African group, expressed concern at the meeting that a few countries had "hoovered up" most of the supplies.

 

Observers say this board meeting, which last until next Tuesday, is one of the most important in the U.N. health agency's more than 70-year history and could shape its role in global health long after the pandemic ends.

 

On the agenda is reform of the body as well as its financing system, which was revealed as inadequate after its largest donor, the United States, announced its withdrawal last year.

 

"WHO has to remain relevant and ... has to come out of this crisis with more strength than before," said WHO Executive Board Vice-Chair Bjoern Kuemmel of Germany in comments last week.

 

But he expected resistance from some countries to pressure to boost financial contributions.

 

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Michael Shields and Nick Macfie)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-19

 

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8 minutes ago, webfact said:

The world is on the brink of "catastrophic moral failure"

Did'nt China stoop to that low when they covered up the virus a year ago? Look what happened after that!

But is it a "moral failure" if those who did all the good work benefit first? 

 

Glad I am retired now, after 25 years in the UN system I have enough of this third world belly aching.

Gravy train this lot. First class travel, 5 star hotels. Why work as GP when you can control your own fiefdom  

 

 

 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the clown who told the world there was nothing to worry about with the ... virus, it doesn't spread by human to human contact. He should have been booted out months ago.

40 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Did'nt China stoop to that low when they covered up the virus a year ago? Look what happened after that!

 
China were slow to release information sure. 
But they had released it by December. 
But most governments shrugged it off. 
Trump admits he downplayed it for the economy.

Boris was out shaking hands with everyone in hospitals.

Western governments were instructing people not to wear masks. 
 

By early January the Thais were already testing, less than two weeks after China announced there may be a problem, well before Western governments, and turned up the first case on 13 January.
 

We now know it was in Europe already by that stage, but nothing was being done, no testing, no mask wearing etc. it spread like wildfire and caught Italy, Spain, etc off guard. They hadn’t prepared, the UK and most others didn’t even have adequate PPE. 
 

The result of this swift decisive action in Thailand limited the first wave in Thailand to just a trickle. If all governments had followed the Thai example we wouldn’t be anywhere near 90 million infections and 2 million dead. 
 

No flies on the Thais. 
 

China are guilty of suppressing the first outbreak. But most western countries and a few others are guilty of negligence, ignoring the warnings and spreading it. 
 

Unfortunately now, the countries who did act morally and responsibly such as Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand etc are all paying the price. 
 

It came out of China, but they did lockdown hard and enforced mask wearing and social isolation. The west dithered, denied and made excuses, which lead to the high numbers and even new strains such as the highly contagious UK super strain mutant variant that is causing the most problems today. 

1 hour ago, Boomer6969 said:

But is it a "moral failure" if those who did all the good work benefit first? 

 

Glad I am retired now, after 25 years in the UN system I have enough of this third world belly aching.

OK, so the scientists and medical professionals who developed the vaccine get first shot.

 

Who else ‘did all the good work’?

 

 

China were responsible. They need to own up  

Just now, LOS14 said:

China were responsible. They need to own up  

And pay, one way or another!

Prayuth has  capitalised  on this situation  

I typed in "moral failure and irony" to Google, and there came up a picture of him.

Pretty sure the WHO are a big failure themselves. Are they using a playbook from China? Distract and blame something/someone else.

 

The WHO set up their own commitee to investigate themselves, and today the interim report said the WHO failed to announce a global pandemic early enough, and failed to be tough on China. Sort it out.

Countries pre-ordered 5 or 6 vaccines, because they weren't sure which ones would work, not realizing that they're all good.  Surely, the excess doses can be fairly redistributed to poorer countries. Bigger countries, such as Brazil, USA, and China really need all the vaccines they can get hold of, and its really political issues within these countries that is the major problem.

Well, my 94 year old dad (UK) got the vaccine same day as the Queen, so at least there seems to be some fairness intranationally if not internationally. Would I have been happy for that to go to some guy in Burkina Faso? 

tribalism has been around for thousands of years, nothing will change for another thousand.  

8 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

 
China were slow to release information sure. 
But they had released it by December. 
But most governments shrugged it off. 
Trump admits he downplayed it for the economy.

Boris was out shaking hands with everyone in hospitals.

Western governments were instructing people not to wear masks. 
 

By early January the Thais were already testing, less than two weeks after China announced there may be a problem, well before Western governments, and turned up the first case on 13 January.
 

We now know it was in Europe already by that stage, but nothing was being done, no testing, no mask wearing etc. it spread like wildfire and caught Italy, Spain, etc off guard. They hadn’t prepared, the UK and most others didn’t even have adequate PPE. 
 

The result of this swift decisive action in Thailand limited the first wave in Thailand to just a trickle. If all governments had followed the Thai example we wouldn’t be anywhere near 90 million infections and 2 million dead. 
 

No flies on the Thais. 
 

China are guilty of suppressing the first outbreak. But most western countries and a few others are guilty of negligence, ignoring the warnings and spreading it. 
 

Unfortunately now, the countries who did act morally and responsibly such as Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand etc are all paying the price. 
 

It came out of China, but they did lockdown hard and enforced mask wearing and social isolation. The west dithered, denied and made excuses, which lead to the high numbers and even new strains such as the highly contagious UK super strain mutant variant that is causing the most problems today. 

We had the first few Corona cases in Germany already in November, but back then the doctors thought it’s just a heavy flu. Which makes me think that they had Corona already in the summer of 2019 in China. If that’s the case they took 6 months to inform the rest of the world and that only because the west found out more or less themselves! In other words, the Chinese swept it under the rug like they always do! Anything to not tarnish their reputations! The irony is that their reputation went down the drain a looooooooooooooong time ago already, they just don’t see it! 

It is called selfishness when a country tries and gobble up as much of the vaccine as they can, and then in turn instead of sharing it they will try and jack the price through the roof and offer it to others who can pay for it.  It unfortunately will become a free for all if there are no calming forces that get together and find a way to commonality and treat the world as a whole.

11 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

The result of this swift decisive action in Thailand limited the first wave in Thailand to just a trickle. If all governments had followed the Thai example we wouldn’t be anywhere near 90 million infections and 2 million dead. 

 

Dream on, local climate is a lot more important that people seem to think

 

How many doses did Burkina Faso order and pay for?  Are they waiting for and complaining until some kindly government gives them some? 

The irony is, with a few exceptions, that the majority of "poor" countries to date are relatively unscathed by Covid.

A rash of Latino countries have been hit hard, but very few in the poorest continent of Africa are suffering. Berkino Faso for example has 5 deaths per million, compared to the European average of around 900. Brazil is now rolling out AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines, while the Indians will have a number to choose from.

WHO Director-General is not doing his organisation any favours, especially when you consider where the funding comes from and that by and large, those are the countries that are doing it tough. 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

4 minutes ago, Donga said:

The irony is, with a few exceptions, that the majority of "poor" countries to date are relatively unscathed by Covid.

 

Take the UK for example, the average age of death of a COVID patient is 82.

 

I think that covers most of the difference between the rich and the poor countries.

Don’t suppose Tedros took the Chinese Sinovac shot, did he?

Reported post and response to it removed.

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

 

Dream on, local climate is a lot more important that people seem to think

 

Or at least, so you postulate.

 

 

 

Quote

 

The global plan to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries faces a “very high” risk of failure, potentially leaving nations home to billions of people with no access to vaccines until as late as 2024, internal documents say.

The World Health Organization’s COVAX program is the main global plan to vaccinate people in poor and middle income countries around the world against the coronavirus. It aims to deliver at least 2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 to cover 20% of the most vulnerable people in 91 poor and middle-income countries, mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

 

But in internal documents reviewed by Reuters, the plan’s promoters say the program is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements which could make it impossible to achieve its goals.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-who-vaccines/exclusive-who-vaccine-scheme-risks-failure-leaving-poor-countries-no-covid-shots-until-2024-idUSL8N2IV50J

The problem is with the WHO. Bad management - hence why I said earlier, why are they pointing the blame at others when it's their failure. Countries have donated BILLIONS into the fund - the UK alone has coughed up almost a billion - 798 Million GBP. Astrazeneca-Oxford (another one from the UK) is offering the dose at around 3 USD a dose - and has signed agreements and technology transfers to several countries to produce the vaccine themselves - namely India and Thailand.

 

The EU has also coughed up 800 million Euros - personally I think they could afford a little more seeing as it's less than what the UK sent - and the UK is only one small island, not a group of 27 or so countries. Still, not to be sneezed at though!

 

I don't know what's going on in the US, though I'm sure Biden will stump up some extra cash if needed.

 

I'm not proud of being British, but I am pleased to say that the UK is doing it's part. I completely reject the notion that richer nations are being selfish. The UK is being hammered by the virus and we've almost lost 100,000 to it. But we're still giving money, we're the single biggest WHO annual budget contributer and sending out a cheaper, easier to produce and distribute vaccine to other countries.

10 hours ago, mommysboy said:

Countries pre-ordered 5 or 6 vaccines, because they weren't sure which ones would work, not realizing that they're all good.  

 

 

Links with scientific evidence ,  { not from the WHO }

would be much appreciated , thank you .

I returned from BKK through shanghai on the 21st so I was very interested in all the early medical reports and I read all that Who posted on Twitter and watched all the pressors.  I will never forgive Who or support them in any way ever again.  They seemed like the red lap dog from day 1. 

6 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

We had the first few Corona cases in Germany already in November, but back then the doctors thought it’s just a heavy flu. Which makes me think that they had Corona already in the summer of 2019 in China. If that’s the case they took 6 months to inform the rest of the world and that only because the west found out more or less themselves! In other words, the Chinese swept it under the rug like they always do! Anything to not tarnish their reputations! The irony is that their reputation went down the drain a looooooooooooooong time ago already, they just don’t see it! 

Or, just maybe, like the Germans, they thought it was the flu, too. 

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

I returned from BKK through shanghai on the 21st so I was very interested in all the early medical reports and I read all that Who posted on Twitter and watched all the pressors.  I will never forgive Who or support them in any way ever again.  They seemed like the red lap dog from day 1. 

In what way were you supporting WHO before the pandemic?

With  who,s track record regarding the corona pandemic hane proven they,ve got no credibility whatsoever,trump had the right idea when he told them to whistle for funding.