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

[webfact 82,160]

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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[PatOngo 47,560]

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!

[Boomer6969 2,110]

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.

[LOS14 9]

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

 

 

 

[TSF 2,674]

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.

Edited January 19 by onthedarkside
name calling removed

[Natai Beach 2,404]

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. 

[Chomper Higgot 36,895]

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’?

 

 

Edited January 19 by Chomper Higgot

[LOS14 9]

China were responsible. They need to own up  

[PatOngo 47,560]

Just now, LOS14 said:

China were responsible. They need to own up  

And pay, one way or another!

[LOS14 9]

Prayuth has  capitalised  on this situation  

[Enzian 888]

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

[2530Ubon 1,868]

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.

[mommysboy 4,571]

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.

[nausea 4,729]

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? 

[malibukid 1,884]

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