Rich and infamous
Covid-19 vaccines show up the dirty side of capitalism
NOT many Malaysians are signing up for the Covid-19 immunisation. There are a few reasons for this. One is their worry about the side effects of the vaccines. Media reports saying AstraZeneca vaccines did cause blood clots in a few cases have added to people’s anxiety. Now the medical authorities in the United States are suspending the one-shot Johnson & Johnson for similar reasons. This fear can be allayed if people are told what those side effects are and how serious they can be. People know that medicines, either in the form of capsules or injections, do come with side effects. They are used to reading them on the labels of the boxes the medicines come in.
As in the case of jabs, the doctors bring these to the attention of the patients before they are injected. More transparency will help. Another is that people want to be able to choose the vaccine they are given. Here, too, the government can come forward and make people understand why they can’t. Logistics is one reason. Contracts for supplies have been signed. Rescinding means cost to the government. Not to mention what to do with the vaccines that are here. Plus, polling for choice of vaccines will take time. Imagine the time it will take for 27 million Malaysians — the herd immunity target — to make the choice. SARS-CoV-2 is an impatient virus. And lately, a super spreader, too. Finally, and more importantly, there is a shortage of vaccines, an artificial one at that. Rich countries have garnered them all for themselves. What’s worse, rich countries have either booked or stocked between three to five times their need. Low- and middle-income countries like Malaysia are victims. If Malaysians who have registered for Covid-19 immunisation are wondering why they have not been jabbed yet, this is why. Dirty old capitalism is at work here. And Big Pharma are only too happy to play along.
This is no fiction. We have the word of the World Health Organisation (WHO). As early as February, the WHO told Reuters about rich countries making deals with drug companies threatening the supply for the global Covax programme for lowand middle-income countries. WHO’s Covax programme is aimed at supplying 1.3 billion vaccine doses to low- and middleincome countries, but vaccine hoarding by rich countries has caused a slow rollout. Not dissimilar to Malaysia’s vaccine rollout on the amble. The Guardian’s March 17 report tells how bad dirty capitalism can be. “Rich countries with 14 per cent of the world’s population have secured 53 per cent of the best vaccines.” Almost all the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are headed there, though Malaysia somehow managed to secure some. Moderna vaccines are exclusively theirs. None is being offered to poor countries, the newspaper says. “In fact, nine out of 10 people in poor countries may never be vaccinated at all.”
It is unlikely that Moderna’s chief executives feel badly about the unvaccinated poor, The Guardian opines. Moderna is said to be looking at US$18 billion in sales for this year and profit for the first time since it has been in business 11 years ago. Pfizer, too, has a pretty sales target of US$15 billion. Capitalism comes with little conscience. The rich can pay more for fast or extra supply. The vendor is more than happy to oblige for extra profit. A tale as old as time.
...there is a shortage of vaccines, an artificial one at that.