We're injecting those vaccines tomorrow. It doesn't seem morally right, though, that we are getting vaccines through that special program. What do you think, LadyL?
I’m not LadyL, and I’m not sure I’m interpreting your question correctly: Do you mean COVAX? And when you say “doesn’t seem morally right”, do you mean because you are a high income country? And other poor nations need them?
IF this is what you mean, here’s my answer to that:
This is a global problem, and right now Canada is in a big storm. IF you guys, being a high income country, just like the US, can help block transmission, and mutation, then you are doing a service to the world. We don’t want to be talking about the “three headed Canadian mutant variant”, Kwim?
Your partnership with COVAX is a good and important thing, on many levels.
(Not LadyL, but ..... ) No, it's not fair. But as my mum used to say "whoever said that life is fair?"
Especially for countries that 'could' have controlled their travel and quarantine better. Perhaps not trusting travellers to properly quarantine at home (as I suspect that is how the variants escaped into the community ... "oh I will just pop out and get that milk/whatever I need").
The wealthy countries - and wealthy people - will always be vaccinated first. Be able to buy first. And perhaps COVAX distribution is allowed because Canada is also a contributor to COVAX, and is in a pickle.
I guess we have to push past that, and just accept that 'it is'.
For my own country, I am a little frustrated that we are waiting for our Pfizer order. And I am wondering if it is possible to buy the license to manufacture it ourselves. I haven't heard a peep about that angle. I may just bring it up on some media forums, and see if anyone has answers as to why we are not doing that, if it is at all possible.
Though I did hear a talking head saying this morning that the US will soon have an excess of Pfizer so we should see if we can purchase from the US, as opposed to the EU. Plus Novavax will be ready in June, and we have an order in for that.
Continuing this discussion, because it’s deep - all variant discussion aside (I origin
Basically, I’m in favor of anything that goes through COVAX, as I’ve been following their initiative since the very beginning.
Now with that being said, there is a lot to be said about vaccine inequities, which thankfully is what their main focus is.
Dr. Mike said one time “We can’t vaccinate everyone in some countries, we need to vaccinate some in every country”, those who are most vulnerable and predispositioned to developing severe disease. And as Dr. O mentioned, it’s not just a humanitarian issue, it’s a strategic issue wrt the emergence of future potential VOCs.
I was watching Brazil, and other countries, they don’t have oxygen, basic medication, no “sedatives”, other meds... It is heartbreaking to see and think about, and believe me, I think about it all the time.
I see it every day on all the international videos, etc.
I didn’t read the full article yet, but iirc, Canada has contributed, is it 440 million to COVAX? That’s a job well done because it has helped with research, manufacturing and distribution for vaccines, based on this globally collaborative, investment pool strategy.
I know what you mean, bc I feel bad about others, poorer nations, all the time.
All I can say is that COVAX is WHO, and I’ve listened to Doc T, Dr. Mike, Dr. Bruce, who is the Covax lead, and Dr. Swaminathan, Dr. Angelou-Simao, all of them, and I know that they are approaching this as a global situation, and that they are whole heartedly focused on the lower income countries, on both a humanitarian and epidemiological sense.
Eta: Lastly, imo, it is especially negatively consequential, our absence from the COVAX Facility over this last year, because with us being the richest country, leader of the free world, there is SO much we could have been doing to help approach and contribute to this globally (understatement, words can not express). Jmo.
Eta2: And it certainly doesn’t seem fair for people who denied and superspreaded to be top vaccine candidates, jmo moo.
Eta3: making note to bring forward some of Doc T’s most recent comments, I still keep up with the Conferences.
