US, wealthy west failing India and developing countries, says( NEW YORK TIMES ).
WASHINGTON: America and wealthy western countries are failing the developing world in a “moral test on vaccines”, the
New York Timeseditorial board said on Sunday, urging the
Biden administrationto adopt a bold, comprehensive strategy to vaccinate the world and warning the economic consequences of failure to do this would cost more than making vaccines.
In an editorial, the nation’s most influential paper said the US is well on its way to protecting Americans from Covid-19 and it is now time to help the rest of the world by “marshaling this nation’s vast resources to produce and distribute enough vaccines to meet global demand.”
The federal government, it said, has ample legal power to compel pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and also share critical information and technologies to make vaccines, and a $25 billion initiative — chump change compared to the $6 trillion plus the US has spent on stimulus — would produce around eight billion doses of mRNA vaccine, enough to vaccinate half the planet.
It is a moment of both obligation and opportunity,” the paper said, warning that without a major US course correction, the rest of the world will have to wait until 2023 or later for large-scale vaccination initiatives, and the consequent contraction of the global economy by trillions of dollars that will push millions of people into poverty. The NYT critique came even as Unicef on Sunday urged nations with vaccine stockpiles to donate their excess, saying the Covax Facility had received only 65 million vaccines when it should have been at least 170 million.
“We have issued repeated warnings of leaving low- and middle-income countries without equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. We are concerned that the deadly spike in India is a precursor to what will happen if those warnings remain unheeded. While the situation in India is tragic, it is not unique. Cases are exploding and health systems are struggling in countries near – like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives – and far, like Argentina and Brazil. The cost for children and families will be incalculable,” it warned
NYT also criticised the Biden administration for its modest efforts, including what it called a “string of tactical decisions”, such as donating millions of vaccine doses to countries in need and signaling support for patent waivers that might expedite vaccine production efforts, saying, “these are good steps, but they are not nearly sufficient to meet the moment.”
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