Conflict between US, allies over vaccines ramping up
Doses held in cold storage aren’t being used to help the vulnerable overseas
BRUSSELS — Millions of coronavirus vaccine doses are in cold storage in the U.S. that can’t be injected in the states because they are not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but the Biden administration is not allowing them to be sent overseas, where American allies are struggling to get enough doses for vulnerable populations.
The two-dose vaccine from AstraZeneca has received emergency approval from the European Union and World Health Organization, but not in the U.S. Now U.S. partners are prodding President Joe Biden to release the supply, noting that the administration has lined up enough doses of the three already-approved vaccines to cover every American adult by the end of May and the entire U.S. population by the end of July.
EU member states’ ambassadors this week discussed the challenge of accessing U.S.-produced doses of the AstraZeneca shots. The German government said Friday it was in contact with U.S. officials about vaccine supplies, but stressed that the European Commission had the lead when it comes to procuring shots for member states.
Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have directed representatives to discuss supply chains in the vaccine production.
“Hopefully, we will be in a position on both sides of the Atlantic to ensure that sufficient quantities of vaccine doses are distributed out in line with the schedule so as to complete the vaccination campaigns,” EU commission chief spokesman Eric Mamer said.
Even though it is not approved in the U.S., well over 10 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine are stockpiled in the country for domestic use and cannot be exported under the terms of the company’s agreement with the federal government.
Drug manufacturers that received federal assistance in developing or expanding vaccine manufacturing of doses were required to sell their first doses to the U.S. In the case of AstraZeneca, whose vaccine was initially expected to be the first to receive federal emergency use authorization, the U.S. government ordered 300 million doses — enough for 150 million Americans — before issues with the vaccine’s clinical trial held up its approval in the U.S.
That policy has also come under criticism from U.S. neighbors like Canada and Mexico, which have been forced to seek vaccine manufactured on a different continent, rather than across the border. Its enforcement comes as the Biden administration has purchased enough doses of Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to be able to inoculate 150 million more people than its population by the end of the year.
The U.S. has also ordered 110 million doses of vaccine from Novavax, which is expected to file for emergency approval as soon as next month.
“We want to be oversupplied and overprepared,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, saying Biden wanted contingencies in the event of any unforeseen issues with the existing production timeline.
It’s the Thursday before spring break 2020. Here at New Image Youth Center, a nonprofit, after-school program in Parramore, we have college students visiting from Winston-Salem State University. Seventy-five youths are on-site, 40 of whom are eagerly anticipating Monday’s trip to Florida Gulf Coast University.
That’s when the calls start coming. The visiting students must return home immediately. Our own spring break trip and on-site programming are canceled after months of planning. Never mind that the hotels and van rentals are paid for, or that field trips have been scheduled.
The world is closing down because of a virus that is spreading out of control.
New Image Youth Center is “The Good in the Hood,” a year-round program that serves more than 130 K-12 youth annually, focused on five pillars: academics, social development, health and wellness, crisis intervention and social justice. We exist to provide youth a safe place to learn, grow and play.
But how do we handle this crisis brought on by the coronavirus? What happens to our families when parents can’t work, children can’t go to school, bills can’t be paid and access to food is scarce? What happens to NIYC when we can’t operate as usual? How do we stay afloat when the world is closing?
Whether open or closed, our first priority is the safety of our youth. Most of our students won’t have a real meal if they don’t get breakfast and lunch at school, along with dinner at NIYC. With school and our camp program closed, this was our first objective: to provide meals. Thanks to the determination of late board member Cathy Crouse, we had emergency food reserves on hand and were able to share them with our families.
The first week ended, and the world was still closed! Now what? We shop and we begin delivering food to families sheltering at home. NIYC is very transparent, and we share just about everything on our social media pages. Regular donors increased their donations, and new donors sent their first checks. Volunteers jumped in. Partnerships developed as we turned our kitchen into a temporary food pantry open to the community.
Tomorrow’s Team, an Orlando nonprofit that provides leadership opportunities through community enrichment programs, shopped, sorted and delivered groceries with us, then delivered fresh produce weekly. World Central Kitchen supplied hot meals we picked up and delivered. Second Harvest Food Bank provided meals and snack boxes.
We were awarded a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation, a Denverbased foundation that supports innovative solutions to big problems that enabled us to buy additional food. Thanks to these and other donations, from March throughout the summer we were able to serve nearly 200 people over 4,000 meals and snack boxes.
Next priorities: How do we keep our students engaged while they’re at home, and how can we keep our staff employed? Staff responsibilities shifted to coordinating the food pantry and, for the first 10 weeks, to creating virtual activities for our students and their families. Staff also accompanied small groups of students to outdoor activities offered by Parramore Kidz Zone at a nearby rec center.
Many of our youth, staying home and attending classes online, needed tutoring. Volunteer tutors were out of the question, so staff tutored small groups of youth remotely and in person. In June, we were able to open our summer camp at half capacity, with small groups in separate rooms but, sadly, no field trips. Our youth counselors had to get very creative.
When the new school year started, we expanded our hours and upgraded our internet capacity to allow counselors to conduct virtual learning groups. We were able to employ graduates of our program whose own college campus experience had shifted to virtual learning. We applied for and were awarded a PPP loan to offset increased salary expenses.
The pandemic also drove up the demand for crisis intervention services and mental health counseling for individuals, families and groups. We created a play therapy room, a safe place where they are able to work with a therapist to learn vital skills through play and to solve conflicts among themselves.
The past year has definitely been challenging. But there also have been significant positives. Several of our students became published authors. We added social justice as our fifth pillar of programming. Donations increased. One of our students completed his doctoral studies. A special needs student graduated from high school. Gradually, we have brought back favorite activities and volunteers.
And our doors remain open at no charge to our youth.
One year into the pandemic, we are proud to remain the good in the hood.
This guest column is one in a series marking the one-year anniversary of the emergence of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 in Central Florida.
Shantá Barton Stubbs is executive director of New Image Youth Center in Parramore.