Science MagazineAs soon as the first COVID-19 vaccines get approved, a staggering global need will confront limited supplies.

By Kai Kupferschmidt 

Many health experts say it’s clear who should get the first shots: health care workers around the world, then people at a higher risk of severe disease, then those in areas where the disease is spreading rapidly, and finally, the rest of us. Such a strategy “saves the most lives and slows transmission the fastest,” says Christopher Elias, who heads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Division. “It would be ludicrous if low-risk people in rich countries get the vaccine when health care workers in South Africa don’t,” adds Ellen ‘t Hoen, a Dutch lawyer and public health activist.

Yet money and national interest may win out. The United States and Europe are placing advance orders for hundreds of millions of doses of successful vaccines, potentially leaving little for poorer parts of the world. “I’m very concerned,” says John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading @ Science Magazine.

‘Vaccine Nationalism’ Threatens Global Plan To Distribute COVID-19 Shots Fairly

Science MagazineAs soon as the first COVID-19 vaccines get approved, a staggering global need will confront limited supplies.

By Kai Kupferschmidt 

Many health experts say it’s clear who should get the first shots: health care workers around the world, then people at a higher risk of severe disease, then those in areas where the disease is spreading rapidly, and finally, the rest of us. Such a strategy “saves the most lives and slows transmission the fastest,” says Christopher Elias, who heads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Division. “It would be ludicrous if low-risk people in rich countries get the vaccine when health care workers in South Africa don’t,” adds Ellen ‘t Hoen, a Dutch lawyer and public health activist.

Yet money and national interest may win out. The United States and Europe are placing advance orders for hundreds of millions of doses of successful vaccines, potentially leaving little for poorer parts of the world. “I’m very concerned,” says John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading @ Science Magazine.

14 comments:

  1. I will gladly let whoever take my vaccine shot. I wont be taking it...

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    1. Ah frankie, how else will our reptillian overlords use Bill Gate's vax to track ye and curtail&surveil yer every movement?

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  2. The poorer countries will be better off without it.

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  3. Providing its admi nistration is not as incompetent as "test and tracde" I shall be first in line for thde jab.

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    1. Get a double dose...You can have mine. I have asked friends if they what the jab and they are of the same school of thought as me...

      Fcuk their vaccine's.......

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  4. In Frankie's defence there are plenty of medical professionals saying vaccine clinical trials take a decade for a reason. Side effects can lie dormant. A Japanese scientist is actively encouraging healthy people not to take it. The Brits have changed the law so that pharmaceutical companies can't be prosecuted for deaths/illnesses caused by the vaccine. To imply only conspiracy theorists have a problem with the vaccine is dishonest and lazy.

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  5. Yeah, Barry can have my vaccine too. If that makes me a conspiracy loon then I'll gladly say 'I'm Spartacus!'

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  6. If peer reviewed scientifc evidence can show that vaccines can have side efffects then I may listen to anti-vaccine arguments.

    But until this materialises, then I rest my case on the success of the polio and smallpox vasccinations and on the harm caused by Andrew Wakefield's lies about the MMR vaccine in the form of the hundreds of measles deaths that have resulted from the drop in herd immunity.

    It is not enough, David, just to say that a Japanese scientist is encouraging healthy people not to take a Covid-19 vaccine. Who is this scientist and what is the evidentiary base for their claims. Are they, like so many antivaxxders, cherry picking or manipulating evidecne in the manner of Wakefield.

    And finally, I cannot ignore the presence of far-right and far-left elements as well as anti-maskders whenever antivaxxers appear at public demonstrations.

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  7. I've no interest in persuading you. You do as You see fit. Look it up. The concern is simple, clinical trials usually take a decade, this one is to be made available a.s.a.p. The checks can't be as stringent, obviously.

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  8. As much as I love a good conspiracy theory...

    The collosal multinataional Big Pharma's aren't exactly going to want to harm their end-users.

    The reason why they can accelerate the role out is very simple, they already did a shit load of research into SARS and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome so they weren't working from scratch.

    They know to look for protein spikes with this virus and that DNA/RNA vaccinnes are effective in producing strong immune system responses.

    For a 'race' to find a vaccine they're starting at the 75% mark compared to something completely new, this is why the trial period is dramatically shorter. That's all.

    One thing I've learned about this pandemic is that scientists are absolutely shite at conveying to the public about the why and therefores of what they are doing. I'm a nerd. I read scientific literature and though I failed every exam at school over the years I've taught myself to wade through the crap and make reasoned judgements.

    People seem to view a potential vaccine with deep suspicion, but ask them why and they can't tell you. "Do your own research" is their battlecry.

    Typing what you want to be true into Google isn't research. For a start use Google Scholar,at least there most of it's peer reviewed and from reputable sources!

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  9. Who cares about conspiracy theories? Stage 1 of a vaccine regardless of related illnesses usually takes 1-2 years with covid it's 3 months. Stage2, 2-3 years, covid 8 months. Stage 3, 2-4years they are clubbing it in with stage 2. Stage 4, 1-2 years, it's being expedited. The numbers are from Brit government website.
    The brightest minds about are working on this, if I had to pick one way or the other I'd say it was safe. There is a chance it won't be. Calling people who disagree with you conspiracy theorists or condescending to them because you can read isn't a strong argument.

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    1. David I wasn't referring to you, but my point still stands. They weren't starting from scratch and they knew a coronavirus would eventually emerge with similar characteristics. Yes I agree they are rushing it but the risks are very low imo.

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  10. Steve,
    I came across a but rude there and it wasn't my intention. My point isn't that the vaccine will be unsafe, the majority of medical professionals agree with you, that says a lot.
    Lately I've noticed an increase in labelling when debating. Worried about vaccines, you're a conspiracy theorist. Criticise blm, you're alt right. It annoys me, it probably shouldn't but it does.

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  11. I guess these doctors are 'right wing,conspiracy nut job fascists' too? https://docs4opendebate.be/en/open-letter/

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